Conversations
by LSgrimm91
Summary: Starting from the first conversation.  How did Sam and Jack get together? What was happening behind the cameras? S/J Prequel to 'Sacrifices'.
1. Courting

**Disclaimer****: I wish I did, but I don't own any part of the Stargate franchise apart from my DVD collection.  
****Story summary****: Sam and Jack lay the cards on the table and picked up on a conversation they would never allow to happen. from between S8 and 9, finishing at 'line in the sand'. When things started rolling.  
****A/note****: My first SG-1 story! I'm excited. I love Stargate. So be kind and leave a review and tell me how this goes down. I wanted more from 'Threads'; I don't think Sam and Jack talked enough, but I also think S/J's relationship needs to be more professional (even when personal) than some people make it. *****Edited and amended.**

~ SJ ~

This had to be some sort of punishment. An all her years at the SGC, Sam had never done so much paperwork. She had brought it upon herself though. This was the paperwork for her own research; documentation for all the procedures, results, findings and everything in between. She had been at Groom Lake for only two months now and she was missing Colorado considerably.

Needless to say, Sam's reasons for reassignment weren't entirely professional. The threat from Anubis had been eliminated and the Earth was at its lowest defence status since prior to the Stargate program's inception. But, she wasn't needed at the SGC anymore. Actually, she was needed – and frequently asked for - at most research establishments, but more here than there. At least, that's what she would tell herself whenever she even so much as thinking about the decision that tore her from the altar and the prospects of a nicely painted house with a white picket fence. This is how she fought the regret: by making herself feel needed by something bigger.

Sometimes she spoke to Daniel, which helped her to maintain her resolve. Sam had even gone offworld a month ago to see Teal'c; probably the closest thing to a holiday she had had in years. And then there was General O'Neill.

It had been one month and twenty eight days since they had spoken. Being on opposite sides of the country didn't help the feeling of isolation and she felt frustrated by the fact that she missed him. More than she ought. But she'd had had her chance...

She had to hand it to Rodney McKay; the idea of a mini fridge in her office was pure Genius. Time for a bubble break. She'd been staring at a lengthy report for nearly three hours and it was starting to do her head in.

Sam's muscles strained as she stood and she noticed how painfully quite her office was. She felt the need for some Vivaldi. She opened the second draw of her desk and pulled out a CD, she placed in the little boom box on the corner of her desk and hit play. Much better. One of her earliest memories was of her father falling asleep to classical music. From then on, it was one of her more personal indulgences. She cracked open a can of Sprite lite and sunk into her chair. This was nice.

A knock sounded at her office door and she suddenly missed her P90. People always chose to interrupt her when she was on a break. Never during the actual work, oh no, always during her break.

Sam sat up in her chair, turned the music down with the the remote and straightened out her uniform.

"Come in" She called.

The doors opened and SGT Ryleigh stood in the doorway, looking somewhat flustered.

"Ma'am, there is a General O'Neill here to see you." The younger woman informed.

Sam stood up quickly, but her expression revealed nothing. The General? Here?

"Of course, show him in." Her heart-rate had increased and she hated the fact that it did. They'd worked together for 8 years; they had seen each other every single day. But then again, that was before they had mutually acknowledged the continued existence of that thing they shared. Of course, they never spoke of it, but after Kerry and Pete, neither she nor Jack could deny that they still felt something for one another.

As her thoughts strayed, SGT Ryleigh stood aside to permit the man in question into Sam's office. Jack nodded his thanks to the airman and practically sauntered in, clad in his nicely pressed Class A's and a folder tucked under his arm.

"Sir, good to see you." She threw him a sharp salute.

"Likewise Colonel." He returned the salute, though with far less enthusiasm. There was a tension in the room and it was coming from somewhere. Ryleigh... she needed to disappear.

"Thank you SGT" she nodded to Ryleigh, who shut the door of the office. The tension slipped away as O'Neill left out a breath and fell lazily into the chair opposite her desk, tossing the folder and his hat atop it. Sam was still surprised by his random visit and forgot that she was still standing.

"Si'down Carter, take a load off." He waved for her to park herself.

"Right." She took a seat. "So what can I do for you Sir?" She ran a hand through her hair.

"Well for one, you'll allow me to take my jacket off. It's ridiculously hot down there." He joked; wiping the back of his hand across is brow, eliminating the glistening sheen of sweat that had begun to form.

"Go ahead Sir." Jack stood and began unbuttoning his navy blue jacket. He placed it on his lap and straightened his tie. Sam held back a smirk as his effort he made the knot worse.

"Thank god. I was about to fry. And enough with the 'Sir' business." He sighed.

She noticed he wasn't wearing any rank slides on his shirt. If she thought about it hard enough, he resembled a well dressed civilian. A very blue civilian, but a civilian none the less.

"General, why are you here?" She knew he wasn't here on business. She'd have known. There was another option, but she would risk looking too deeply into it. He didn't answer and simply looked at her as if she was meant to know.

"I came in search of a particular _national treasure_. That and I felt the need for a chat. Off the record." That's why he took his jacket off, no uniform. Nice touch Jack.

"Is this the continuation of a chat we almost had two months ago?"

"I hope so." a tiny smile touched the corners of his lips, and Sam had to force herself to not stare at that particular feature on his face. Up at the eyes Sam. He was watching her - not staring - but watching, and she found it difficult to match his gaze. She looked down at her hands as they played with the hem of her shirt under the desk.

"I think we can both agree there are certain things that stand in our way, _Sir_." She said quietly, still playing with her shirt.

"Carter..." He said her name in a tone she had rarely heard. It sounded incredibly intimate and sent a pleasurable shiver down her spine.

"_Jack_. We cannot have a relationship if we are both Air Force officers and living on opposite sides of the country. Sorry, but I won't do it." She practically snapped at him.

O'Neill pursed his lips slightly and nodded.

"You know... I was sitting in my office this morning, and I got to tell ya, I can't stop thinking about the day your father and Selmak died." He picked up his hat and started picking lint off it. "And I realised, that that was the day you broke up with Pete. It also happened to be the day Kerry left me."

"Coincidences happen." She was struggling to remain neutral about all this.

"A coincidence is a seemingly remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances, apparently by _chance_."

She looked up at him with a hard gaze; his answer was too succinct to have been made up on the spot.

"I have a dictionary in my office; I was bored." He explained dismissively. "Anyway... yeah, the timing of the events was coincidence, but the reasons behind them weren't. No way in hell." He added a little awkwardly.

"Jack, what are you talking about?" Sam was at a loss for words. She was surprisingly inarticulate when it came to personal matters. "is it the fact we knew we couldn't... That, that the air force would never allow us to explore different aspects of our... _friendship_... we still gave up the possibility of a future with other people for it?"

"Maybe." He picked up the folder and replaced his hat in the vacant space. "I entertained the idea that _maybe _if our circumstances changed, for the better, maybe we could go exploring."

"The world doesn't work like that. We have the same problem. This is what we chose. I think if either of us gave up our jobs for the other it would compromise the part of us that chose that path, which could grow into resentment. I can't allow a part of me to be compromised like that, Jack. I can't."

"I know. This is why I requested a transfer." He said nonchalantly.

That caught Sam completely off guard.

"To where?"

"Here."

She had a mental blank.

"Officially, I'm doing the exact same job as before, except I felt- and the president agreed- that I may be more useful overseeing some of your research directly. Although I didn't mention the fact you were here when I asked for the transfer. It would be kind of obvious to Henry." Jack said, a hint of amusement playing on his features. It was a rare occasion when he could render Carter speechless.

Holy crap. Was he for real?

"But Sir, the military wouldn't allow-" she began.

"The military forbids relationships between officers serving in the same chain of command. I picked up a few things in Washington, Carter... This brings me to my second predicament."

He groaned as he stood from the chair. He threw his jacket on the seat behind him and proceeded to pace around her office, playing with the embroidery on his peak cap.

"Look, I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore. There is a bit of an age difference between us."

"I think serving eight years in the field with you kind of eliminates any problem with age or vitality. Your age doesn't worry me; in fact, I've never really thought about it."

Jack was satisfied with her answer.

"Well lucky for you, I'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to my relationships..." She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "...Circumstantially."

"Right..." Sam teased. She stood up and came around to the front of her desk. She leant back on it and rested her hands in front of her body. "Sir, am I to understand that you intend to... what? Court me?"

He snorted at the notion.

"Something like that. But I definitely wouldn't actually call it that; I'm not _that_ old fashioned." He grinned at her. His face became serious then and he approached her, standing close enough to make her thankful her office didn't have a window.

"_Sam_, I need to know. I could be sent back to Washington or you could be pulled back to the SGC... would you be willing to give this a shot?" his eyes were painfully honest. She pondered for a moment.

"Two months ago, I left Pete for a chance like this." His eyes grew worried then. "And nothing has changed since then. So... yes." she spent more time thinking than necessary, just to torture him. She had had her answer to this question in her head for two months.

"And if you're lucky and turns out I like you, I may want to marry you... or not." He joked.

"Jack, that is _so not funny_." She warned with a smile.

He shrugged. "You never know Carter. We may have to do a run to Vegas if the military finds out we're together. They can't do anything about it then. And I mean, it is just down the road, after all."

"Vegas? No, I don't think so. I'd want something more quite than that."

"You're the boss, Colonel." She'd heard that one before. If he kept saying it, she'd start to believe it.

Jack picked up his folder and offered it to Sam to hold as he put his jacket on. She couldn't help but flick through the folder and found only pages upon pages of doodle drawings and notes.

"Sir? Why did you bring this?" she frowned, lifting her gaze; quickly noticing how close he still stood to her.

"Don't you know carter? You walk around high school with a clipboard and you would never get picked up for playing hooky. Works the same with folders and bases."

She gave him a blank look. No, she didn't know that.

"Of course... You never played hooky, did you?"

"Afraid not, Sir."

"Ah! So much to learn, Carter!" He fastened the last button on his jacket and went for his tie again.

"Let me." she offered, hoping to salvage the knot he had already mangled. She used to do this all the time for Jacob as a little girl. Perfect.

"Cheers Carter." She reached behind herself and found his hat. She went to place it on his head but he caught her hand.

Gently, he took the peak cap from her and looked at her hand with warmth she could almost feel. He smiled and placed a feather-light kiss on her hand. She couldn't resist the urge to grin like a maniac.

"God Sir, when do you transfer here?"

"Next Monday. Apparently, not soon enough." It was then he put his hat on and went into General mode. He took a step back to allow her to stand. "It's good to see you again, Carter."

"You too sir."

He smiled and ran his thumb down her jaw line. _My girl_. She let out a small smile and handed him his folder.

"See you Monday morning. Or Sunday night. Officially I'm not your superior till Monday morning."

"Looking forward to it." He gave her a nod and left with a glance over his shoulder.

Yep. She was a little crazy. She had to be.

~ SJ ~

**For those wondering, running your thumb across your jaw is sign language for 'girl'. Hope you liked it. I really would appreciate a review, no matter how short it is. They make me happy as Larry. :) **


	2. Spagetti on top

**Chapter summary: Jack moves to Nevada and Sam makes an effort to welcome him.  
****At note: wow! What a wonderful welcome to the Stargate world of fan fiction. (Thank you reviewers!) As the response was positive, I have chosen to continue this story.  
****PS: I'm an Aussie. When I say 'thongs', I mean flip-flops, not the underwear.  
*****Edited and amended.**

SJ ~

"May l join you Ma'am?" Sam was disturbed mid-munch in the cafeteria by her 2IC: Captain Newberry.

"Please do.'' She swallowed and gestured for the younger woman to take a seat across from her.

"Ma'am is it true we're getting a new C.O. for our department?" Newberry whispered, clearly eager to ask but not in front of the rest of the department. Sam frowned and swallowed the piece of lettuce she had been chewing

"No. Who said that?" Sam wondered.

"Some of our guys heard about a Major General coming down from Washington to oversee the research and development department. I was just wondering if he was replacing Matheson.'' Newberry explained before digging into her own bowl of pasta.

"Ah...Well, it's partly true: there is a General coming down from Washington to oversee R and D, but he isn't the new Commanding Officer." Carter revealed pushing her empty plate forwards and leaning her elbows on the table.

"So... any idea why a two-star has suddenly taken interest in our corner of the desert?" Despite being Newberry's CO, Sam enjoyed the familiarity she and the younger woman shared. She never expected her to keep calling her 'Ma'am' when they spoke in private.

"Not sure, Jazz. I think he's just here to keep his finger on the pulse." Sam lied.

Yeah... Hers.

Sam smiled at the fact that Jack really _was_ coming here. He had pursued her and she couldn't help enjoy the feeling of being so blatantly wanted again. Especially by Jack O'Neill.

"So hang on, do you know when he gets here? Or even what his name is?"

"That's a lot of questions..." Sam observed.

"I feel that it's good practice for a 2IC to be informed about these kinds of matters." Newberry spoke formally, even though she was teasing and Sam couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, but seriously, Sam; is this guy going to be a pain in our side?" Newberry's eyebrows arched in slight worry. Visiting Generals traditional were the cause of hair-loss amongst base personal. General Bauer had been a fine example of that fact.

"His name is Jack O'Neill. He officially reports tomorrow, but I think he's coming in today. And no, he won't be that kind of pain; I've actually worked with him before."

"Well, if he _is_ a pain, I'll know who to complain to." Newberry joked and polished of the last of the carbonara she'd been eating,

"Hey, this could be your job someday." Sam offered. She rose to leave the Captain to start on her jelly.

"No thanks, I'm right." Newberry dismissed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Leaving early?" The captain wondered, flicking a glance at her watch. It was only twenty past one, after all.

"I find that its good practice for CO's to go introduce themselves to visiting Generals, especially ones that may be a pain in the future." Sam grinned, leaning in conspiratorially across the table.

"I'll keep that one in mind then. Have a good afternoon Ma'am." Newberry smiled back and switched to officer mode.

"You too, Captain." Sam left her 2IC at the table and made her way for the exit. To be honest, she felt a little excited. Not the girly kind of excited, more like the kind of excitement one feels when a new shipping container comes in with lots of goodies to be investigated and tested. But even that wasn't the right kind of excitement.

It was the excitement a woman felt when that special someone came along, and she knew exactly which building he'd be living in.

Unfortunately, like her, Jack would be living on base. Only some of the military personnel were live-ins. The rest, along with the contractors, lived off base. Logistically, this new seed of a relationship they had planted was going to be a nightmare to grow.

~ SJ ~

Irony itself must have been having a dig at Sam. As it turned out, the married quarters had been converted to the VIP lodging. Well, how many married couples worked at area 51 after all?

Sam knocked at the door of accommodation building 4C.

Strictly speaking, as a female officer, her visiting the barracks of a male officer would be, well, frowned upon to say the least. But, though the base was heavily manned during the day, the side of the base where all the accommodation buildings were was significantly less monitored.

She turned away from the door to look at the scenery. Dirt, scrub... oh look, _more_ dirt. Oh wait, a rock!

"Carter?" she turned to find a certain Major General clad in knee length shorts, T-shirt and thongs.

"Sir, did you just get in?"

"Pretty much. Come on in. The cold is getting out." He ushered her inside.

"Actually, it's that the heat is coming in..." she trailed off when she realised he didn't care. He was probably only concerned with whether that the air con worked or not. She watched him pick up a box off the floor by the door and carry it off to the bedroom.

Her room was not that dissimilar to his. Sam was in a married quarters block as well, being one of two female officers living on base. The rest of the boys where stuck in shared accommodation. But even those were better than the old OR blocks.

The married blocks all had the large living room space with the integrated kitchen; all fitted with a TV, coffee table, lounge chairs and the usual kitchen appliances. Down the hallway on the left was the bedroom, complete with a king sized bed, office desk, chair and wardrobe. On the right of the hall was the bathroom and laundry. It could have been worse.

"Can I give you a hand?" She called to him, suddenly feeling like a lump.

"Can you bring those suit bags on the couch in here?"

"Got em." She grabbed the immense pile of suit bags. There would have been 8 of them, at the very least. Washington must have made him finicky about his dress and bearing. She deftly made her way into Jack's room where he had strewn clothing and paperwork everywhere.

"Thanks..." he relieved her of the deceptively heavy garments and hung them up in his wardrobe.

She took a seat on the corner of the bed, dodging his peak cap. She picked it up and whilst his back was turned contemplated the idea of putting it on. Oh, what the hell. She flipped it onto her head and was surprised to find that it fit rather well. Maybe a smidge too big, but nothing a little bit of tissue in the lining wouldn't fix.

Whilst Sam considered different ways of making the hat smaller, Jack turned around and caught her with his hat on and an amusing vacant look on her face.

"Carter?" he asked rather blankly. "Whatchya doing?" Sam turned her head towards him, evidently realising that she had been caught.

She sheepishly removed the cap. For the first time she strongly felt the fact that he _did_ outrank her. More than that; he was a two-star General now. Not that the Air Force lacked either Lieutenant Colonel's or Major General's, but the difference weighed heavily on her conscience more than ever.

Then she felt a wave of panic rise in her. This was a _very_ fine line they were dancing on. Maybe the risk was too great?

"I think I should go Sir. I'd hate to be caught here..." Sam went to leave, but something in her tone must have given away some of her discomfort, because Jack caught her by the hand as she went to pass him.

"Whoa Sam! Hang on a minute." He dragged her out into the living room and sat her on the couch and himself on the coffee table opposite her.

"Look, if you're having second thoughts, tell me now."

"No, I'm not. But you got to admit Sir, we are gambling with some heavy repercussions here."

He sighed.

"Yeah." And that was all. Well, he was a man of few words. "But they wouldn't be as severe for you."

"They'd be bad for me if they were bad for you."

Jack smiled at her confession; she would have never said that in the past, thought it, probably, but never would have said it. He gave a tilt of his head and brought his hands lightly to her cheeks. He leant in closely with a determined look on his face.

"We'll be fine. I promise." He sounded serious and she trusted his sincerity. She gave him a small, reassuring smile. Yes, there would be consequences for this little game they were playing, but it would be far worse for him as the higher ranking officer. If he was okay with it, Sam could live with that. She just needed to reconcile herself with the hardships they would endure. She knew the risk was worth it.

They stayed like that for a moment. Sam seriously toyed with the notion of kissing him whilst he was less than ten inches from her face. It wouldn't take much, just a little tug on his shirt and lean in.

Apparently Jack had other plans. His hands fell to her shoulders and he stood up, quietly walking back into his room.

You bastard.

If they were dancing together in this relationship, he was taking the lead, that's for sure. Frankly, she didn't mind. She knew he understood her need for independence in her life, but it was nice to not stress about a relationship. Especially one like this.

When she got stressed, it took its toll. Jack on the other hand had the unique ability to brush off most of his worries. Sure, she _handled_ stress well; she would even conceal it well. It just took more to stress Jack out.

"Hey Carter, where's a good place to eat around here?" he called to her from the doorway to his room.

"You mean aside from the mess?" She called back. Jack grimaced at the idea of an on-base mess hall.

"Of course..."

"The Little A'Le'Inn would be right up our alley then." His eyebrow rocked to one side. "It's funny to see the place, especially when you what real aliens are like. I'll take you there, once I change to civ's." She stood and went for the door. He followed her close behind.

She placed her hand on the door handle, but before she could open it, his hand came to rest atop hers. She felt another hand touch her side. He planted a chaste kiss on her temple.

"Thanks Sam." His smile was gentle, yet still casual enough to not make moment uncomfortable. "Come grab me when you're ready?"

She nodded, smiled warmly and left.

He sighed heavily at the closed door. This was going to be a long haul. It might be one of his most dangerous missions in a long time too.

~ SJ ~

**Sorry, a little fluffy, I know. Please do review, they help keep me motivated and work out what to write next.**


	3. Who's the boss here?

**Chapter Summary: Jack and Sam drive up to the little file 'inn for an informal get together. That is, until they are caught by the base CO.  
****A/note: sorry guys, l spelled "Little A'Le'Inn" wrong last chapter. I googled it. It's on my bucket list to go visit, Thank you guys again for reading and reviewing; it's so wonderful to wake up and find that people are reading this Story.  
*****Also, here In Australia, 'spaghetti' is the term for the embroidery on a senior officer's peak cap. 'Scrambled eggs' is the term for a Warrant officer's rank insignia. Go to my profile page to see.  
******Edited and amended.**

**~ SJ ~**

"Carter? What's this?" Jack had been rummaging through the back of her new Land cruiser for a water bottle. He turned in his seat with a mission report in his hands. The plain manila folder had a red 'CLASSIFIED' stamp across the top and was marked with 'file number '#06856'.

"That's my mission report from the day Dad died."

"Ah... Carter?" Jack gave her a worried look.

"I didn't steal it Sir, if that's what you're thinking. That was the original one, but it was a bit too personal; I rewrote it and submitted the revised version." She explained whilst swerving to avoid a ditch in the road. "I know you hate reading mission reports but I wanted you to understand what those few days were like on my side of the fence."

"Yeah, I guess we are going to have to talk about that day." He opened the report, sinking further into his seat. At least this way they didn't actually need to 'talk' as much. Well, she didn't. Then again, how much was there to talk about? They knew they cared for one another. Jack would even go so far as to admit that a part of him loved her. The attraction was there and had been pretty much since day one. The attachment had manifested over the past eight years. So again, what was there to be talked about? The future, that's what. And to understand the future, you need to comprehend the past.

"Dear diary..." Jack said in a sing-song voice.

She smiled with little reservation. That wasn't actually written there but it might as well have been. His humour helped ease her anxiety, though in all honesty, it would have been awkward to actually talk about it. This way, some of her cards were on the table.

"..._Before he died, Dad gave me one find gift. He told me to be happy; he told me I could have everything I wanted. And I knew, in my heart, what he meant. I knew who he meant._" Jack quoted the last paragraph of the report. After a moment, he quietly closed the folder and ran his fingertips along the yellow cardboard.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Sam..." he admitted, accentuating the use of her first name. 'Carter' and 'Sir' were a comfortable habit. 'Sam' and 'Jack' were for the more serious moments in their budding relationship. Moments like these.

"You were there for me." She countered, briefly glancing at him before returning her attention to the rocky dirt track ahead.

"No. I mean... Kerry, when we separated, she asked if the Air Force was the only thing keeping you and me apart..." Sam cut him another glance. "I know. I wonder how many other people picked it up."

"Hopefully not too many..."

"Mm. Sam... When I say I wasn't there for you, what I mean is that, we had the chance to start something, and when the time came for your reassignment here... I'm sorry I let you go and didn't follow you right through the gates." Jack confessed, still looking at the report in his lap. He wasn't good at emoting and Sam understood that.

Sam was still taken aback by what he had said. Jack must have done some serious soul searching over the last nine weeks in Washington.

"I'm glad you had a change of heart, Jack." It was all she could come up with quickly. They carried on in relative silence until she pulled into the car park of the small restaurant/motel/tourist centre.

"I promise the alien burgers are famous for a reason." She assured him as she pulled the park brake.

"I trust ya, Carter." He went to escape the car before Sam touched a hand on his forearm, which effectively made him halt all movements, turning back to her with an inquisitive raise of his eyebrow.

"That's another thing, Sir. Pat -the lady that runs the place- knows some of us are military. She doesn't ask questions and tells tourists we're just locals; but the general rule is to blend in and not give away that we work at fifty-one, in case any tourists or journalists are listening in."

"The military wants us on a first name basis here? It's a sign Sam!" he grinned boyishly and jumped out of the vehicle. "Goddammit! Sam!"

"What is it, Jack?" She answered as she shut the car door and slid her sunglasses on her head. She was still adapting to the taste of his first name, but was slowly adjusting. Before, it was only in their most intimate of moments when they used their own given names; she liked the idea that eventually, she would be able to say it as often as she chose.

"Is it going to always be this hot?" he complained.

"I guess so. It hasn't changed much since I've been here." She shrugged. She'd gotten used to the drying winds of Nevada fairly quickly; she had also picked up some management tips, such as using her sunglasses as a headband.

She heard him grumbling as he followed her inside. Sam knew the concessions he had made to come here. Pat greeted Sam by name as soon as they entered and Sam had to explain to Jack that she was a frequent customer.

"Can we get two burgers, Pat?" Sam asked, making a beeline for a corner table.

"Sure thing Hun." The middle aged woman behind the bar replied.

"You got any beer Pat?" Jack called out; a hint of desperation laced his voice.

"As much as you could want." Jack exaggerated a sigh of relief.

"One for you?" He directed to Sam.

"Diet coke?" She half shrugged.

"Diet coke _and_ a beer..." Jack called to Pat, taking a seat across from Sam.

"Coming up."

Luckily the diner was fairly light on visitors. As Sam explained, the tour group came back at around 5:30 pm. By which time, she and Jack would be making their way back to base. Jack conceded that the alien burgers were very good. They chatted quietly away for a while about work -minus any details, of course- until Carter's attention was caught by something behind Jack. The look on her face told Jack someone from the base had entered the diner.

They both adjusted in their seats; hiding the unhooking of their feet under the table. Luckily, the booth was against the wall and their feet weren't easily visible. A man approached them, also dressed in Civ's. He would have been closer to Sam's age, with grey streak emerging on top of his head.

"Sam, I didn't realise you knocked off early? I see you've met our guest." He inquired, leaning on the edge of the table casually.

"Ryan Matheson, Jack O'Neill." Sam introduced the two men, who shook hands briefly.

"That's right; we've spoken a few times before." Jack nodded and half smiled in agreement. "So you two know each other?"

"Sam and I worked together for many years, in fact, I was her boss prior to her coming here. I needed a burger and ran into Sam on the way out. She offered to help me scout some good food." Jack explained, occasionally nodding his head.

'Thank you Jack, you may have saved my tail. And you did it without lying too. Politics has made you sneaky.' Sam thought.

"Ah... that makes sense. Well Jack, you couldn't ask for anyone better to help you out. Sam is one of my finest. I just hope you haven't made plans to steal her back." Matheson joked.

Translation: uh-huh. You've come to check out the research and development and no, you cannot take one of my best officers (and scientists) away, because she just might impress you too much.

Jack put on the least threatening grin he could. Inside, he rejoiced in the fact that he had already stolen Sam, or at least had been the unworthy recipient of her affection.

"You have my word Ryan. I personally will not take Sam away from her work." And he was serious too.

"Eh, relax... I'll let you two carry on. I just came down for some refills for my fridge. We'll talk tomorrow, hey Jack?"

"Absolutely." Sam recognised his sarcasm. Obviously Matheson didn't because he bid them farewell and left. Jack waited till Matheson was out the door and tearing out of the car park before leaning across the table to speak to Sam.

"Is it just me, or was that guy a little possessive about his favourite scientist?" he suggested.

"He's a three star, you know how they are. He's a little funny, but he seems like a good CO." She said in a very hushed tone.

"Right..." Jack sounded unconvinced, but he was probably playing on the possessive reference. He may get jealous of Matheson. Or a little wary of the man.

~ SJ ~

Sam and Jack remained at the diner until after five, choosing to leave and avoid the returning tour groups. They took off along the highway back down south towards Groom Lake.

As the sun began hitting the top of the mountains, the temperature gauge on the Land Cruiser had risen to a worrying level.

"Damn." She cursed under her breath as she pulled the car off the road and to a halt. She jumped out and flipped the hood up. Jack followed her out of the car to offer her any help.

"What's up?" He came around the front and stood by her, checking over the engine.

"Oh, it's just getting a little overheated. I'm going to need to top up the coolant." She shook her head at her new vehicle. "Great vehicle, apparently not so great in constantly hot weather..." She chuckled.

"Back of the car?" Jack asked, putting a thumb over his shoulder to the back.

"Yeah, under the driver's seat." Jack retreated in search of the coolant.

Sam went to open the cap on the radiator; she knew it was going to be hot, but only realised as her hand went to touch it. Too late. She didn't just touch the steel cap either, she gripped it.

"Ah! Son of a...ugh!" She protested, pulling her hand back and cradling it in her other hand.

Jack's head popped back from the back door.

"What'd 'ya do?"

"Something stupid!" she snapped angrily.

Eventually, Jack came back with a bottle of coolant. He was smart enough to put his hat on the cap, _and then open it_. He topped up the radiator and replaced the cap. Sam, on the other hand was still fussing over the reddening burn on her palm.

He put the lid on the coolant bottle and sidled up to Sam.

"Lemme see." He held out a hand. She held out her hand to him. "Well, you did it Carter. You _finally_ did something stupid. I'm proud of ya." He teased.

"Oh well." She mused over her hand. She sighed and shook her head. When had she turned into a girl? How many times had she been shot, beaten or thrown around? Too many to count. She mentally checked herself and put on her brave face, which she presumed was her normal face.

"Hey, you mind if I drive? Get my bearings and what not." He waved casually at the surroundings.

She dug the keys out of the pocket of her jeans. She held them up in front of her face. He grabbed them but held onto her and the keys a moment longer, leaning in _so_ close to her their noses were almost touching. Tempting close.

"Thanks." He whispered, took the keys and walked around her.

That was _so_ not cool...

He was out to torture her, surely. She felt frustration build, probably fuelled by her earlier stupidity. Firstly, for the fact her was playing with her, and the second, she was allowing it to frustrate her. What a vicious cycle.

Sam clenched her fists in agitation, but was rudely reminded her palm was slightly burned. She closed the bonnet with a loud metallic thump and rounded the side of the car where Jack was replacing the bottle of coolant.

"You know, baiting me like that is a little mean." She announced, hands on hips.

Jack turned around, elbow on the door. The sun was near setting and she couldn't help but like the way the light made sideways shadows across his features.

"'Mean'... Carter?" he raised an eyebrow. Granted, it was rather inarticulate. She took a step closer.

"Yes, 'mean'... This is probably one of our few chances to be truly alone. Why are you holding back?" She raised an open hand, presenting their surroundings as the ultimate definition of 'isolated'.

Jack ran a hand across his mouth, contemplating how best to word his answer.

"That day you came to my house. You had something to say. It was hard because I was the boss. Every time you tried to talk to me, about us, I stopped you." He lifted himself off the door and shut it behind him. "We weren't on equal playing field, because we're so used to the superior/subordinate relationship. I misused that to control the path our _personal_ relationship took." He ran a hand across her hair gingerly. "Like I said Sam: you're the boss..."

What the hell. Was he always this deep?

"So if I decided I wanted to kiss you right now..." she asked.

"I would be most happy to oblige." Jack grinned.

She smiled back and brought her hands up to his neck. She didn't need to encourage him, he came most willingly. For not the first time, but certainly the most freely, she kissed him. It was gentle and delicate, and she could feel him grin as he kissed her slowly, but with pure affection. She returned his enthusiasm, filled with the satisfaction that she could kiss him and not because of an alien influence or a part of a hallucination. She could kiss him because she wanted to, and evidently Jack did too. But alas, oxygen is necessary for continued brain activity... Stupid brain.

"Finally." She whispered against his lips when they separated.

~ SJ ~

**Oh by the way, did I mention Sam and Jack kiss in this chapter? ;D the quote from Sam's mission report came straight out of the Stargate SG1 magazine collection. Just so you know. As always, reviews are very welcome. Push the review button. Sam and jack implore you to **_**push the button**_**.**


	4. Plastic Fish

**Chapter summary****: Sam and jack improvise when he finds out Groom Lake is dry and there is no fishing to be had. Jack learns of a development that may crush his and Sam's plans before they even get underway.  
****A/note****: wow the fluff keeps growing, I need more plot. Okay, one more fluffy chapter and then I'll start dishing out the storyline. Thank you so much for the kind feedback too!  
*****Edited and amended.**

~ SJ ~

They continued the long dusty road back to Groom Lake, passing through the two security stops and then the front gate without hassle. Carter pulled into the married accommodation car park and cut the engine. The sun had set but residual light filled the base with a promising glow. Luckily, the 6 VIP/married blocks were actually stuck together. Sam had been living it 2C, only two rooms down from Jack. Jack sighed and glanced out the window.

"So is there an actual lake here?" he gave Sam a hopeful look.

"It's dry." His face fell. "Sorry. But, I may have a solution to that." She held up a finger, indicating she had had a rather brilliant idea.

Jack looked rather confused. When she made her plans, she didn't have Jack in mind. Well, she sort of did...

"Come on. I'll show you." Sam jumped out of the car with Jack in tow and locked it behind her. She began heading towards her block. "I need to grab something. I'll meet you in the courtyard."

Jack made his way to his own block, digging his room key out of his pocket. Once inside he went for the fridge, only to realise he was yet to stock it.

"D'oh." He muttered. Jack turned the light on and closed the door behind him on the way out. He went in search of the so called 'courtyard' which he eventually found around the back of the building.

The courtyard was an enclosed yard with four clothes-lines along the walls. The walls were red brick at least 6 or 7 feet high, heavily covered in a bushy plant that clung to it tightly. In the middle was a blue steel drum that had been cut in half and filled with water.

He began to understand when he heard the sound of plastic wheels and a loud grunt coming towards the courtyard along the building. Sam emerged with what appeared to be her office chair and a very full plastic bag.

"Sorry Sir, you may want a chair." She said, though Jack had already noticed.

"Be right back." He quickly went back to his block and ungraciously dragged his chair from his bedroom, wheeling it all the way back to the courtyard. When he managed to get his chair through the gate and into the yard, Carter was dumped half a dozen coloured plastic fish into the drum. Next to her chair was a toy fishing rod. And beer!

"Carter..." he began. You're a genius? You're a lifesaver? Could he have expected anything less than sheer initiative from her? Nope. God bless this woman; she was an angel!

"Did you want fish in there?" she asked as she went to sit down, stopping halfway.

"Sure. See if I have better luck with plastic." He wheeled over and parked his chair next to Sam's.

They sat with their feet propped up on the barrel and a cold beer in hand. Jack found himself actually trying to catch the bobbing fish in the drum with great determination. As the light faded to near nothing, the automatic lights came on above them.

"So how many others are in our blocks?"

"Well... before it was just me and my 2IC, captain Newberry. She tends to stay in her own room mostly." She pointed in the general direction of block one. "Matheson is at the old O's mess with the male officers and the rest of the airmen are in the 50 series, except block 53 which is for all the airwomen. They're the three story buildings across from the airmen's mess. You're the only VIP on base at the moment."

"Ah-huh!" Jack yelled perhaps too loudly. He held up the plastic fishing rod, on the end of which hung a green fish. He turned to her with a stupid grin on his face. She returned his enthusiasm with a somewhat irked look of her own. had he heard a word that she had said?

"Sorry..." he said guiltily. He handed over the fishing rod as a gesture of good will. Time for a little revenge, she thought.

"I should go check up on my baby tomorrow; I haven't seen her in a while." She announced casually. One of Jack's feet fell off the drum with a loud _thump_.

"Huh?" he asked quickly, followed by a hiccup.

"I brought my bike down. I need to give her a good run. She hasn't been ridden in a long time." She mused as a fish practically jumped onto her hook. She offered it to jack. "Do you want to come with me?"

'Easy Jack. She didn't mean it that way... Down boy.' He thought briefly. He watched her face change as she realised he wasn't thinking about motorcycles. Still, she tried to put on the least awkward front possible.

"I dunno Carter. I know what you're like on that thing."

"Sir?" She wondered.

"You're a speed demon. Two words: space... race..."

She went to say something, probably along the lines of 'am not!' but rethought her response. She may have enjoyed a good adrenaline rush in the past. She wouldn't deny that.

"I just don't like standing still. It's the same with flying."

"_I like _standing still; I wish I could do it more often..." he confessed. He watched the little fish bobbing around in the drum silently. Time to dig into his past. "Not standing perfectly still... But every now and then it's nice to slow down. Pretend... that I'm standing still. A long time ago, I dove head first into the Stargate program, hoping to make it all stop."

"Jack... you don't need to talk about it..." she said quietly. He turned to look at her.

"It's okay, Carter. It's something I have to live with, but not something I carry with me every day." He took a long swig of his beer, emptying the bottle. "Not anymore. I just need you to understand that Sam."

"There are some things I won't fully understand, but I can respect that." She concluded after a moment.

"Thanks." He said with a weak smile.

That was it. End of conversation. She was sure they weren't likely to talk about this again, at least not for a while. Though she knew at least one day a year, Jack would be sad. She would need to be there for him in some way.

"So why do you have these anyway?" Jack pointed to the toy rod and plastic fish.

"I dunno. I think something made me like fishing." She gave the drum a speculative look. "Probably the scenery."

"Not the company?" he asked, a little sad.

"God no!" she smiled. He chuckled at her.

He caught the smile she was giving him. Affectionate but a little reserved. It was one he'd seen several times before. Though he saw it in a different light, and not the light above his head, mind you. Was that warmth there before? Yes. Only now he chose to acknowledge it. What an ass he must have been, to be so blind to tenderness she was showing him.

He shook his head at himself.

What an idiot...

~ SJ ~

Sam found herself debating with Newberry and Lieutenant Kennedy on what was to be done about a malfunction in the X304's CO2 scrubbers. The funny bit was the argument had arisen whilst they were lying on their stomachs in a T-junction of one of the small maintenance shafts. Sam didn't normally allow arguments to ensue with herself and her subordinates, but the debate was in a very confined space. Some things can be given leeway when circumstances allowed.

"As I said Ma'am, we need to replace the filters to accommodate high levels of CO2 output which will make it easier to detect foreign contaminants." Kennedy argued.

"We can recalibrate the mass spec to detect contaminants." Newberry retorted.

"That means we need to program it to constantly recalibrate to keep up with the fluctuating levels whilst analysing for contaminants." Kennedy contented.

"Whilst it may be more efficient to change the filters; do remember that there are eight hundred and twenty six individual filters throughout this ship, not to mention the cost of upgrading." Carter advised.

"Colonel!" a voice called down the tunnel. Carter rolled onto her side and looked past her feet. Jack and Matheson, dressed in BDU, were looking down the tunnel with curious looks on their faces. Sam turned back to her 2IC and head engineer.

"Bug out." They all reversed out of the maintenance shaft. She crawled out and stood, the blood rushing quickly from her head.

"Nothing broken I hope, Colonel." Matheson asked.

"No Sir. Not yet. Just consulting." She shook off the momentary head spin.

"I was giving the General a tour of the base. I'm hoping you're not too busy to run him through Research and Development in more depth than I can." Carter caught the look of dread that ran across Jack's face briefly.

"I can, that's no problem Sir." She nodded.

Once Matheson was gone Jack turned to her. It was the first time she'd seen him in working dress as a two star. When Hammond was in command she often wondered whether Generals even _owned_ working dress. Jack proved one-stars did whilst he commanded the SGC, and now he proved two-stars did too.

"Colonel, let's keep this tour _brief_." He pleaded.

"Yes Sir." She obliged.

She kept her word and managed to take him through the 4 hangars, 5 buildings and the entire underground construction space for the X304, all entirely devoted to Research and Development in 40 minutes. He had to hand it to Sam: this was no small assignment. Including contractors, which made up the majority of the workforce, she had upwards of twelve hundred personnel under her command. She might as well have been running the SGC.

Jack couldn't help but also notice how high demand she was in. With every passing through the different sub-departments, Sam was approached for an opinion, consultation or a solution to problems he didn't even understand. And ninety percent of the time, she had an answer for them. Even if it was something she couldn't resolve, she knew where to redirect to person for the answers. The amount of military personnel was outnumbered fifteen to one by the civilians and contractors, but they all treated her the same way: as their boss.

Jack couldn't help but be impressed.

He could tell she got the job because of pure experience and one hell of an intellect. Wow, the stuff she'd been doing whilst serving on SG1 seemed like tinkering with a radio compared to this. Though this lacked the thrill of adventure SG1 offered.

They drove back across the west tarmac towards HQ at the conclusion of the tour.

"Got anything planned for this afternoon, Sir?" she asked against the wind. It was true; she was a bit of a speed demon. Then again, the speed limits on the base where ridiculously slow.

"I've got a meeting with Hayes later. Good thing my new office has a DRN encrypted conference line." She gave him an eyebrow. His terminology had certainly been refined since his transfer to Washington.

"Believe me Carter. Learning to speak 'white house' wasn't in the job description when I took up the office." Distaste grew on his face.

"I know Sir." She pulled into the headquarters building. "I'm thinking of taking this Saturday off to head down to Vegas. It's only a few hours' drive. Put the bike to work." She was making an offer.

"Got a spare helmet?" he asked quietly as he jumped out of the base jeep.

"I think I can find one between now and Saturday."

"Excellent." He went to leave, but upon finding they were still alone, he turned back. "I've never been to Vegas."

"Me neither." She disclosed.

"Really?"

She gave him a blank look. Of course. She'd been offworld or working. He knew she was a workaholic but assumed she would have ventured down there already since being here. Apparently not.

"Right... Working. Well, in that case, if you get approval, I'll meet you down at the inn at say...7 o'clock?"

Granted, it was silly to go north to turn around and go south again, but he could leave his car around the back of the inn. It was a bit conspicuous leaving the base together on her day off. Sure, it was easier for him to leave, but not so easy for Carter.

"Sounds like a plan." She kicked the jeep into reverse and drove away.

As much as he wanted to watch her drive away, he was in General mode and after all, she was just another Colonel. Matheson knew they had a long working history, but the rest of the base didn't. He huffed and walked into HQ, mentally prepping himself for the meeting with Hayes.

~ SJ ~

He took a seat in his new office; the video conference set up and ready to go. He punched in his password and made the call. _Connection established_. Henry Hayes face filled the screen.

"General? How's things down there. Hot enough for you?" the president joked.

"Everything's fine down here Sir. Carter's got the Research and Development running like a well oiled machine."

"That's good to hear Jack. Look, we've got a new commander for the SGC instated. Apparently he's a friend of yours: Hank Landry?"

"Hank? Really? God, and you thought I was trouble! Nah, he's good though." Jack laughed.

"I certainly hope so, because there are plans to reactivate the Stargate program. "

That caught Jack off guard. The SGC was not sending out teams anymore. Not since he left it. The program went into basic retirement and the new CO was meant to play caretaker. He knew it would probably be reactivated when a new threat popped up. But this soon? Why hadn't all of this passed through his office anyway? He was the head of homeworld security after all.

"Are you saying I may have to head back to DC Henry?" Jack asked, suddenly very serious.

"I'm saying don't forget where you store your luggage down there. At the moment things go on as normal. You should also be aware that Colonel Carter may be wanted back at the SCG."

Jack wasn't sure if that was meant to suggest anything. Henry had defended his and Carter's relationship in the past.

"Then that's entirely up to her, Sir." Jack defended. He did his best to look unaffected. Like it made no difference to him. But it did.

"Just giving you two a heads up." he offered. "I've got to head off Jack. You look after yourself."

"Yes sir." The screen then went blank. Jack ran his hands through his greying hair and rubbed his tired eyes,

Damn.

~ SJ ~

**Okay, I'm going to be gone till exams are over. But I'll be back. Feel free to leave suggestions for future chapters or nice comment. I do (sort of) take requests!**


	5. Vegas

**Disclaimer: not mine, I wish they were. I promise to put them back.  
Chapter summary: Vegas! 'nuff said... and paintball. *grin* no, they will not get married at a drive-through chapel. But it's still going to be an interesting trip. Guest starring Dr schrapel **_**and**_** introducing Bruce.  
A/note: Exams are done, I'm back! Bruce is my new character based on a friend of mine, and I gotta tell ya, you'll never find a character this original, though you don't see until later chapters and stories.  
*Edited and amended.**

~ SJ ~

It was 0500h and Jack was definitely _not_ awake. Although, he must have been mildly awake to have dressed himself and made it out to his car, keys in one hand and the strap of a black backpack in the other, half of which was being dragged along the ground. His eyes were sleepy and he yawned deeply. He looked at his car, realising it was time for him to get in.

He had agreed to meet Carter at the gate at 0515. From there she would follow him the thirty five miles south to Indian springs, stop for breakfast, and they would travel the forty miles further south towards Vegas together. It was a sudden change to their original plan, but Sam had pointed out that Indian springs was a better place to leave his car.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Best get a move on. He unlocked his car and blindly got in, tossing his bag aside onto the passenger's seat. It toppled to the floor and after a moment to register, Jack looked over at it.

On the seat beside him was a pristine black motorcycle helmet with a Bald Headed Eagle on the side. He picked it up and as he examined it, his fingerprints became clearly visible wherever he touched. It must have been brand new. On the seat where the beautiful black helmet once sat was a torn piece of paper bearing the distinct curling and sweeping handwriting he instantly recognised as Carter's.

_Your plane to Nellis leaves at 0800, hanger nine. Thought you'd enjoy the sleep in.  
I'll wait for you down there.  
Carter.  
PS I didn't break the lock on the car door._

God bless that woman.

He let out an amused huff, squashed the headwear into his pack and quickly made his way back to bed. Two more hours of sleep counted as a legitimate sleep-in and it would be the first he would have since arriving. She was the early bird, not him. He wasn't even sure if she was capable of sleeping in.

He grinned into his pillow as he rolled over. Somebody would need to teach her.

~ SJ ~

The trip to Nellis AFB was too turbulent for Jack's liking, especially that early in the morning. But it was far quicker than driving. He practically stumbled off the small business class jet and onto the tarmac. He needed to fly more; Washington was making him soft. Jack slid on his sunglasses coolly and shouldered his pack. He scanned the tarmac, but saw no sign of Carter.

After the annoying logistics of going through Movements Section, O'Neill escaped out the main doors, his shiny helmet dangling from his hand. He could hear the hustle of the main city to the southwest. Over the road was an extensive car park that resembled a colourful ocean of cars. As if weaving between unmoving waves, Carter emerged and approached him. Her own helmet hooked in her elbow. As she made her way up to him, he took a moment to do a thorough once over whilst she couldn't see him do it from behind his sunglasses.

Beneath her heavy bootleg jeans he suspected she was wearing the mid-calf biker boots. But that was only an educated guess. The collar of a white blouse hidden beneath the protective leather jacket she wore peaked out around her neck. Her hair was in its usual flared manner but he could tell she was suffering from a bit of helmet hair.

"Sir! Good morning." She gave him a professional smile that gave nothing away. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be." They began making their way through the never ending car park. "How was the trip down?"

"Great; it was about three hours with a break at sunrise."

"Nice. Why did you come down early?" He inquired. He spotted her gleaming black (and rather sexy) motorbike hidden behind a silver Audi.

"Well, this might sound a bit unusual, but I've had a hankering for some field work since being here." She leant back on the bike and folded her arms in front of her body. "So I came down to scope out some of the paintball arenas. I found a good one on the south side of the city."

He raised an eyebrow and swiped off his sunglasses.

"Paintball?" he wasn't sure how to feel. Carrying a weapon was a humbling experience. Having the right to kill someone in your own defence was something he never took lightly. But he could understand the niggling desire to see some action. There was something more. He could see it on her face.

"There's something else isn't there?"

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

"I've been thinking... you and I have came from being out in combat zones for seven years and our um... relationship, has very specific dynamics."

He understood as soon as she said the D word.

"So you think a little paintball will make the transition easier?" He asked, sliding his hands into his pant pockets.

"Kinda." She shrugged.

"Hmm. Works for me." He could admire the thought that went into her plan. And he knew the logic was sound. It was very hard for a relationship that was forged in the heat of battle to transition into the more sedate routine of everydayness.

"That and I've always wondered who would win between you and me." She concluded with the hint of a cheeky grin as she slid the bike helmet over her head. He did the same.

"I'm willing to take a bet on that." He slid onto the leather seat behind her. He hesitated, before gingerly placing his hands on her hips. She looked over her shoulder.

"You wouldn't be the first. Even Daniel and Teal'c have argued that one."

The engine roared to life beneath him.

"Did they bet on me?" He half yelled. He could tell she was laughing at him from behind the safety of her visor. He figured not. She revved the engine a little and they were off.

~ SJ ~

Both officers had done their research of the city and decided to fit in as many attractions as possible. Carter threw a right onto Charleston Boulevard and coasted down the main street before pulling into the car park of a large complex, _Red Rock Climbing Centre_. Jack stayed on the bike and gave the building a confused look.

"Carter, how young do you think I am?" Did she really think he was still in good enough shape to handle rock climbing?

"Do you actually want me to answer that Sir?" she ruffled her fingers through her hair.

"Can you?" he folded his arms across his chest defensively.

"Fifty three, last October." She stated knowingly, folded her arms in response. His eyes widened slightly. That was classified information. Like, _really_ classified. First his car, now his age, was nothing sacred? His eyes narrowed back at her.

"Well you're thirty seven, as of December 29th." She seemed unaffected by the fact he knew her own age. "That makes me 16 years older than you."

"Yes it does." She nodded once.

"And you have no problem with this?" he finally dismounted the bike.

"You think I didn't know the age difference when you asked me that a month ago? I've known for a while." They made their way towards the main doors.

"Carter, you're what we call the _anti-cougar_." She chuckled.

"It's not that bad. I think you need to read 'Emma'; it's one of my favourites. The age difference was the same. It used to be considered very acceptable for men in their thirties, even their forties, to marry younger women." He held the door open for her. She left a smile in her wake for him. He followed her in and stopped in his tracks. The place was huge! Small plastic rocks covered the wall and roof of the massive complex.

Time to show her how not 'old' he really was.

Jack looked up at the high walls, a red safety helmet on his head, and a daunted look on his face. Next to him, Sam was mentally planning her path to the top. He kept staring. It was _very_ high. Even for a pilot, it was still high. His eyes drifted to his left side where Carter stood, hands on hips.

"Ya ready buddy?" came the mixed Irish-Scottish accent from his right. He tilted his head over to the right, daunted look still on his face, towards the heavily built instructor. He looked back up.

"Anyone ever die do this, ah?" he pointed up the wall.

"Bruce. And no, not here." Oh. Well that's comforting. Not.

"I'm ready!" Carter piped up from next to him. He was pulled out of his oh-my-gosh revere to look at her. "You good to go too?" she threw at him.

He glared at her. She planted her hand on his shoulder and pulled his ear to her lips. She whispered to him and one corner of his lips rose into a smile. O'Neill turned back to Bruce.

"Get ready sparky, I'm going up." He rubbed his chalk covered hands together. He turned to Carter again and placed his hands on two blob rocks. "So first one to the top..." He asked, just to make sure. She nodded.

"Whenever you're ready." Bruce announced. He and another instructor held two safety lines.

"One..." Jack eyed Sam with a competitive grin.

"Two..." Sam grinned back at him.

"Three!" They said together.

Like Spiderman and Spidergirl they raced up the wall, the occasion groan of frustration or grunt as they stretched up high escaping their lips. Sam pulled out in front, gaining a whole body length ahead of Jack. Only feet below the top and Jack caught up to her, overtaking her at the last second when her footing slipped. When it did she swore under her breath. Jack couldn't help but stop and look behind him. It was a mistake when he found her right next to him again and climbing at a vast rate of knots. He struggled the last few feet but managed to touch the top first, though only just.

They stayed attached to the wall, panting heavily and sweat lining their brow.

"Holy molly. Guess those trips to the gym are working." He leant his head on the wall, his face hidden between his hands.

"Well..." Carter panted, resting her own head on her hands that had clamped down on a single green blob. "It's not exactly good practice to beat a General."

"You're lying."

"Yeah. I am. You won. Not bad for an old man." She winked.

"I think I just proved I'm far from old, Sam." He pulled back and ran a hand down his face and then through the hair he could access under the helmet, now glistening with moisture. "And so, as the winner, I am officially executing my right, as temporary boss, to do this..."

He swung across to where Sam was still catching her breath and, without any semblance of grace or finesse, managed to steal a quick kiss off her. She smiled a little bashfully.

"Tension." She called over her shoulder to her instructor. She looked back at him with a smile in her eyes and let go of the wall, falling slowly and steadily back to earth, watching him the whole time.

"Tension." He called to Bruce. "Hey, get back here." He called to Sam, now halfway down the wall.

It was Jack's turn to choose their next destination. He had an idea that catered for his tastes, but he had a suspicion Sam would enjoy it just as much. When he told her to head to the Bellagio, she couldn't help but feel curious about what he had in mind. Luckily, he guided her towards the conservatory and botanical gardens. It was breathtaking to say the least. The air inside was so fresh and fragrant and every other wonderful adjective under the sun. She had seen countless paradises offworld, but seeing so many stunning things crammed into one venue was a nice reminder that Earth was beautiful too.

They wandered around the gardens for almost two hours together, and it became very clear to Sam that it wasn't just fishing that Jack loved. He seemed to have a passion for nature in general. 'Note to self: if we get a house together, build a big garden.' She thought. She was glad it was the little voice in her head that said it, rather than aloud. Alas, eventually, it was time to leave and Sam couldn't help but want to come again.

Now it was time for paintball. _Combat zone paintball_ to be precise. Despite the premise of trying to be as warlike as possible, Jack couldn't take the outfits, guns and arenas seriously. He had mixed emotions about it through the whole safety briefing. Though when he finally saw people wandering about in the protective attire, he surrendered and admitted to himself there was more good than harm to come out of this. Sam, on the other hand, had become very social with the other patrons. Namely a young couple she introduced to him as Laura and Colin. They had to be in their early twenties. He had jet black hair and a light tan and sideburns long enough to notice but not long enough to annoy society. She was a short woman with mahogany hair, probably closer to 20 than her partner, her floral red glasses framing her face rather nicely.

"Jack, they would like to go around with us. Think we can take 'em?" she raised a confident eyebrow at them.

He was prepared to say no, but realised it be better to check out Carter's strategy than going head-to-head with her unprepared. Besides, they could take these two easily.

"Only if you guys promise to go easy on us." Jack replied with a little light-hearted sarcasm.

"And then how about girl's versus boys?" Laura asked the group. She seemed like a tiny pack of dynamite, full of energy despite her size.

"I'm game, how about you guys?" Colin smiled, looking from Sam to Jack, then to Sam again. The two officers looked to one another. A silent conversation passing between them, though indiscernible to the younger couple.

"We're in." Sam grinned.

They padded up in protective clothing and separated to opposite side of one of the game zones. This one was simple, stacks of tyres and crate strewn across a grassed area. The rules were simple too. Straight hit to the head or torso and you were off.

"I'll take point about 8 feet front left, you bunk up on the far right and snipe them out." Jack directed.

"Yes Sir." She replied without thinking. They looked at one another briefly. The supervisor off the side yelled out the start of the game. They broke off quickly, Jack adopting a crouching position behind a large crate in the middle on the area. He quickly glanced to his right to where Carter lay on her side, the paintball gun peaking out the side of a tyre stack. He could hear the other pair running around and a few shots fired from both sides.

Suddenly a paintball whizzed past his head. Whoa! He moved to the other corner of the crate and let off a few shots to the other side. No one in view, he advanced to another crate, this one smaller than the last. He saw movement to his left and fired. He could actually see the paintball fly past Colin, who had taken refuge behind a large tyre. If it were a real bullet, no problem.

"Sir?" he jumped when Carter's voice piped up behind him. He found her back-to-back with him, covering his six.

"See anything?"

"I got two in the leg and one in the arm. But I got Laura. Any sight of Colin?"

"Twelve o'clock. Big tyre." He pointed quickly towards the industrial tyre covered in old paint splats.

"You go left." She instructed.

"You go right." He said back.

They moved quickly around the tyre. Unfortunately for Jack, he landed right in the path of where Colin wanted to go. Colin was quicker and got Jack in the chest before he was even able to take aim. Lucky for him, Carter emerged and snapped him in the back.

"Dang!" Colin protested. "Nice one though." He offered a high-five to the two victors, which they readily returned. "Those things really hurt, hey?" he checked out the fluorescent orange splatter on his shirt.

They did. Jack wouldn't deny it. But it was a brief sting and nothing that would incapacitate him. Or Carter for that matter. He hated admitting it, but they'd had their fair share of pain, and sadly, they were almost used to it.

Now Jack was more ready for a girl versus boys round. With Carter on his team, they slipped too easily into their old roles on SG1, when he was the boss. This way, he could see how she went on her own. And there were so many types of 'in action' he wanted to see firsthand of Sam Carter. Oh wait. He didn't just think that. Oh what the hell, yes he did.

The girls versus boys round ran for a lot longer than the first round. Colin was first to go when he didn't move fast enough and took a hit to the head. Not that Jack didn't warn him. He felt a shot lived pang of guilt the young man got hit. But got over in quickly when a paintball collided with the inside of his right foot.

"I'd give up now Jack." Carter's voice came from behind him. He turned around and pressed his back into the side of the wrecked car that _was_ his shield.

Carter had him in her sights over the top of a car back on his side of the game zone.

"What are you waiting for?" He called to her.

"Laura!" Sam yelled in a victorious sing-song voice. Jack's chest took the brunt of six shots to the chest. They didn't come from Carter though. They came from beneath the car, where Laura had sniped him on the ground.

Sam came round to him. Offering a hand, which he took and she pulled him to his feet. Standing this close, he could see a crack in the left side of her visor.

"Whew man, you guys are good!" Colin proclaimed as he jogged over to them. He pulled Laura into a friendly half hug. "I'd love to see you two go one-on-one." And that was all it talk for the gauntlet to fall.

It was time. They took the biggest Game zone as their own, filled with fake rocks and plants, hills and holes spread across the open area. This was the one used for competitions. It was lined with clear acrylic guards not dissimilar to the kind found at ice hockey rinks. It was a little more expensive, but they only need one game. The time was unlimited for one-on-one.

Obviously word had spread that this zone was in use and a small gathering of spectators emerged to watch the match. Carter snuck off to the east side, Jack to the west. Jack had his strategy decided. Keep moving. If he stayed still she would flank him. His only hope was to get forwards as fast as possible and catch her before she escaped. A horn sounded off side and Jack made his run for the middle.

Twenty minutes into the battle and the crowd had grown to nearly seventy people. Even some of the staff turned out to see the Air Force Officers go at it. Jack had taken five hits already, non good enough to get him out. Sam had taken six, and one hit her gun, that could have made her stomach. To their credit, they were going all out. No energy was wasted. There were no sides any more. It was a case of find the other somewhere in the zone.

They sprinted, they dove, and Sam even rolled once or twice. They never stayed in one spot. Jack decided to make a run back towards what was her side at the start of the round. He made a run for it and spotted Sam to his left moving out of her place back towards his side. He shouldered the silver gun and took two head shots ahead of where she ran so he wouldn't miss.

He got her.

It wasn't the splatter that told him this though. It was the cry in pain she made when the second one hit the side of her visor. She dropped her gun and fell to the ground, her hand on her face.

Crap. Jack dropped his gun and made a run for Carter. The game supervisor followed him with a first aid kit in hand. She had her headgear off when he arrived and found her covering her left eye.

"Carter! You alright?" Jack landed on his knees next to her. To his surprise she chuckled. But it wasn't a happy chuckle; it was an it-hurts-a-lot chuckle. A tiny steak of blood seeped out between her fingers and she had pink oily paint on the side of her nose. He took her hand from her face. And found a reddening cut right under her eye.

"Looks like the first one cracked my visor open and the second one got me." she huffed.

"Excuse me Sir." Jack was pushed away by the supervisor. The man examined her face and cleaned away some of the paint. He noticed a fresh paint splatter on his own side. She'd already gotten him. Jack picked up Sam's helmet and checked out the visor. Sure enough, right on the corner was paint from the shot that must have cracked it. He ran his finger underneath and it easily opened up. The guilt was back again. He'd hurt Sam. As if she had perceived his thoughts, Sam addressed him.

"It's alright Jack. It doesn't hurt." She offered.

"I reckon you should swing by the hospital and get it stitched up. The skin is pretty sensitive there and it would be better if it was stitched." The supervisor advised them. Sam had an ice pack below her eye. Jack nodded and stared at Sam.

~ SJ ~

"I thought it was quite fun." Sam admitted, sitting on the side of a hospital bed, icepack still held under her eye. Jack sat next to her, his hands clasping each other in his lap. He hated hospitals.

"I'm glad you had fun then." He tried to smile. "And you know what; our next stop only requires one eye." He bumped her shoulder with his. He would have liked to have gone back and attended to her every whim, but Sam refused to waste the day because she got hit in the face by a mere paintball.

They were interrupted by the arrival of the doctor. She was a ginger with a perky nose and looked far too young to be a doctor.

"Hello, I'm doctor Schrapel. You must be Samantha." She smiled warmly to the couple. She came straight up to Sam and pulled out a glove from her pocket. "Let see what we've got here... So you were hit by a paintball. Forget your helmet?" She looked carefully at the cut under Sam's left eye.

"No, it cracked and one got underneath the visor."

"Any vision problems in your left eye." She flashed a penlight into Sam's eye.

"Nope, all good." Sam shook her head.

"Well, it looks like four stitches and you're set to go Mrs. Carter." Dr Schrapel gathered what she needed to stitch Sam's eye. Jack looked away; it wasn't something he wanted to see.

"Actually it's Doctor Carter. I'm not married."

"Doctor you say?" Schrapel's curiosity had been peaked.

"Not this kind of doctor I'm afraid." Sam chuckled. "Ow." Jack grimaced. He still wasn't looking.

"So what is your field, not-this-kind-of-Doctor Carter?"

"Astrophysics." She hissed in protest again.

"A cosmic tinkerer. That stuff has always fascinated me. But I guess fate decided I was better off in medicine."

There was a mild silence, broken only by Sam's groan or protest to being used as a pin cushion.

"All done." Finally Jack turned back. "I'm impressed. You handled the pain without anaesthetic very well." Schrapel commented. "Just keep putting antiseptic cream on it. The swelling with go down but I'm afraid it's going to bruise up pretty nicely."

"That's okay." Sam practically hopped off the bed. She shook the younger woman's hand. "Thanks very much."

"Any time. Although I hope not." Schrapel grinned back. A bit of doctor humour.

For the last part of their expedition, Jack drove them through the back roads up north. Under any other circumstance, she would have objected, but the chance to unashamedly snuggle up to him and let him drive, along with the fact her eye hurt, was too tempting to let pass by. He stopped on the outskirts of the desert. They sat on the bike and looked out to the west, watching the sun set.

"Jack, permission to hug?" she hadn't been before.

"Please do." Her hands slid around his waist and he felt her head resting on his back. He found her hands and clasped them with his. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool, together it was perfect and the earthy scent of the warmed desert filled their nostrils.

She had to admit, Jack's final destination was moderately predictable. A planetarium. It was fun, they wandered through the exhibits and searched for their long lost meteor that have nearly destroyed the earth. Whilst she knew their solar system like the back of her hand, there was a new novelty to all of it that she could only credit to Jack's presence. In the observatory, she even ventured as far as to hold his hand. It wasn't something she normally did in public. But it was nice to do it purely because she wanted to. He let her know he liked her idea by squeezing her hand tightly every now and then, or rubbing his thumb back and forth over her knuckles.

Suffice to say, the day was a success. Tomorrow, however, they would be back to being Air Force Officers. This day, would not be forgotten.

~ SJ ~

**Just watched 'The Accused', it had Maybourne AND Jacob in it :) everyone should read 'Emma', it's my personal favourite. 'Clueless' was based on it. I actually went out and got blue aeroplane jelly today! I can see why Sam likes it. Very yummy. Wow, it's 3am here. Time for bed I think. Don't forget to review! PLEASE!**


	6. Not all peaches and cream

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from my DVD's. Wish I did, but I don't. Sad face.**

**Chapter summary: Jack is recalled to Washington. Whilst leaving, he makes a mistake that will cost his future with Sam. At least, until Sam decides to disobey his order, but will she be able to act in time to save **_**them**_**?**

**A/note: Thank you for the reviews, by the way! The feedback is always wonderful and very welcomed. **** I enjoyed writing 'I made you a promise' and 'Charles' and I'm glad it was positively received. This is a little out of my depth, but I felt that if Sam and Jack were together, it's stupid to think it would always be peaches and cream. Thankyou denise! FIXED!**

*******warning****: jack and Sam fight ahead. (And then they make up.) ;-)**

**SJ**

It was a Friday night when the call came. It wasn't pleasant. The joint chiefs on a conference call, probably just to gang up on him. You would think as a two star he would have very few people to say 'yes Sir' to. For all intensive purposes, that is generally true, but they all liked to gather in this funny shaped building that happened to be where Jack worked. Life's a bitch sometimes.

Jack ended the call with a headache and some nagging questions. Actually it ended with him agreeing to walk into his old office Monday morning. Reluctantly. Of course.

So now what?

**SJ**

He stood outside her door and wondered what to say. He felt the burn of uncertainty well in his chest. He'd been here before, in a different way, but it was all too familiar.

_Charlie was dead and gone and all he wanted to do was follow his son into the afterlife, by any means necessary. A bullet to the brain, an overdose, an explosion on a planet far, far away. Who cares..._

_It was his fault. It just was._

_Sara. He didn't want forgiveness. Beneath his need, his utter burning desire to die was this uncertainty. He wanted to end it all, but when the moment came, well, it wasn't an option. He could kill himself, but not thousands of abydonians. No way._

_And then he went home. Or at least, the place that was home. He stood out the front door, uncertain what the future held for him. He opened his front door and... Nothing. She was gone. The worst part was, he gave into the part of himself that wanted to give everything up. And he let her go. He did not follow._

Now, he was standing outside the door again, and the universe had thrown him a curve ball. This could be his chance to have a future again. If he didn't let her go, that is. Or perhaps it was one of the many signs telling him that it wasn't to be.

He knocked on her door. Once, twice, with a little rhythm to finish it off. He waited and wondered. He placed a hand on either side of the doorframe. And waited.

He heard the light thuds of footsteps on the floor inside and hung his head. What would he say? What could he offer? A long distance relationship? Please. He had tried to retire. That idea went down the drain when George retired, leaving homeworld security to the some political ignoramus. That, and after a lengthy banter, Sam pulled the 'significant other' card and flat out said he wasn't allowed to retire for her. It was one of the few times he found himself saying _'yes ma'am'_.

The opening of the door in front if his jerked him back from his tangent.

"Sir?" He straightened up. She always addressed him like this, as he did her. If it was a personal call, the other would reply with a first name. If it were business, they carried on with their General's and Colonel's.

"Come walk with me Carter." He stood aside for her and gestured with a nod of his head. He saw the brief look of confusion cross her face that faded with a nod of her head.

She followed half a pace behind him, probably wondering what kind of a conversation they were about to have. He trailed a pathway leading to a grassed area nestled between the accommodation block and the airmen's mess. He had to confess, the middle of nowhere had benefits. Such as the lack of light pollution. It was also one of the many reasons he loved his cabin. On a moonless night like this, the world around you was pitch black until you look up.

He let out a breath and turned to his partner. It was dark, and he was thankful he couldn't discern all her features.

"I'm going back to Washington." He ungraciously stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked onto his heels.

"When do you get back?" she asked quietly.

Here it comes. Before he could answer, Sam seemed to have figured it out for herself.

"You're not coming back, are you?"

"No. I think Henry is digging his heels in. He wants me at my desk on Monday morning."

"I see." She muttered quietly.

_I see? _Is that all she had to say?

"Carter-" he began.

"Don't! Because if you make this about our jobs, then it doesn't involve us. Well it _does_ Jack. It involves _us_." She cut him off. She hugged her arms around her body, though it was hardly cool on the base.

He was at a loss as to what they were to do. A crunching anger built in his chest.

"Damn it Carter! I don't know what's left for us. We spend the rest of our lives in between there and here? There is no way in hell I'm letting you quit. There's no way the air force will let me quit. So what? We see each other every other weekend? Bump into one another now and then? What, Carter? Tell me what the hell we are supposed to do!" His voiced was raised higher than he would have liked. This felt like him barking orders to her in the field again.

"I don't know..." she spoke quietly after a moment in deep thought. They stood no more than 3 feet from each other, but they were miles away. Looking to the ground, too ashamed to meet the others eye. Then she whispered something that sent a chill through him.

"...Sir."

She hesitated, but only for a moment, before turning and walking away in silence.

Damn, he could be a real bastard some times.

**SJ**

It was dawn. Saturday morning. He was on his way to the Indian spring's airport. He was going back.

The dirt road ahead of him stretched out endlessly like a pained scar across the calm desert. He felt sick. He didn't want to leave her like this. He knew in the past he was capable of simply dropping a friendship, or 3, for the greater good.

Surely this was the same thing. He can't expect her to wait for him. By the time he finally did retire, how much life would he have left in him to live? And that's best case scenario. He hated the fact that it was more likely one of them would die in combat. The world would need saving again. It always did. So he did what he thought was best. Left her a note telling her not to wait for the world to play nice and to go live her life without him.

Out of nowhere a motorcycle swung out in front of him. Not just any motorbike. It was Sam's Indian. She cut dangerously close and pulled off in front of him. He came to a skidding halt close behind her.

She kicked the stand done and launched off the seat. He left the keys in the ignition and slammed the door shut behind him. She snapped around, ripping her helmet of and threw it to the ground in the direction of her bike.

"Christ Carter! What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled storming towards his former second in command.

"I've been wondering that since I woke up and found you gone!" She was rearing for a fight and he wasn't going to disappoint her.

"I did what I thought was best for us!" he met her between the vehicles, his body tense in anticipation of conflict.

"No, J_ack_, this isn't about us, it's you, you're running away!" she ground his name out through gritted teeth. Fine. He could handle her on equal ground.

"What am I running from Sam? You're pretty much the smartest astrophysicist in the world, so tell me: what am I running from?" he opened his arms up, waiting for an answer. He figured she wouldn't answer. He figured wrong. She stepped up to the plate with fire in her eyes.

"How should I know Jack? You keep me at arm's length. I know you have a past. I _personally_ know, you can be right asshole some days. You sought me out, remember? Came all the way across the country. And now that your here, you still can't let me in. You're not leaving to protect me, you're leaving because you're _scared_!" she yelled right back.

His eyes narrowed. Oh really?

"What am I scared of... Sam?" he seethed.

She gave him a spiteful half smile and a tilt of her head. _Come on Jack, you want me to work this out?_

That was it. He had used the Air Force, hell, the jobs _they_ chose, as an excuse to not get involved. Why? Because after Charlie, after Sara, he didn't want to risk the only piece of his heart he had left. Die for a greater cause, sure. Have a fling with a nice girl every now and then, awesome.

But actually give away something he found he valued more than his own life? He wanted to, he wanted it badly. But with Sam? She was stuck just like him. They saved the day. Their lives weren't their own. In spite of those horrible facts, yes, he wanted to give what little part of himself he had left to her. Somehow, by staying on the other side of his stony emotional wall for so long, before he knew it, she'd made it to the other side.

Christ, Sam had been chiselling away at his wall since day one. Just by doing her best to be there for him. Every time she gave up part of herself to save him. The times she went against everything she knew to try to reach out to him. She was always there. It was only when he realised how much he cared about her that his fear of being hurt took over. She was right. He was protecting himself.

He turned around and ran his fingers through his hair. In anger he kicked a rock that seemed offensive.

"I'm doing it again." He muttered to himself.

"What?" she spat.

He turned back to her. Her face was hard and still angry. There was a messy mixture of concern and frustration in her eyes. He searched for the right words.

"I'm doing to you what I did to Sara. I'm pushing you away so I don't have to live with the hurt."

"I'm not Sara." Sam snapped.

"Definitely not." That came out wrong. He looked her in the eye and found an stinging ache he rarely saw from Sam Carter.

"She let me walk away; she went off and made another life for herself. You came back." He explained.

"I always have Jack. You've done the same for me too." He could hear the pain in her voice, though it well masked.

She was right. Alien superman armbands, for example. Back then he made no hesitation in futilely fighting that barrier to get to her, because he refused to leave her. What was he doing now? He let that barrier win and he was walking away. Bad form.

The world seemed to be moving without mercy beneath him. He let his legs give way, sliding down the side of his car, and coming to rest against the front left tyre. He stared at the ground between his feet and sighed. A pair of booted feet appeared between them. She squatted down, her elbows resting comfortably on her knees.

He looked her in the eye, this time he wasn't sure what he saw.

"When are you going to stop saving me?" he let out a humourless chuckle.

Finally, for the first time today, he got a smile out of her.

"How do you feel about never?" Her smile grew, her eyes softened and he gladly saw the anger fall away.

"I like that." his energy returned to him and his muscles relaxed. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." Okay, he'd pay that. "We're never going to shake each other. We tried. Failed miserably."

"So what now?" he shrugged.

He didn't miss the look of surprise and suspicion that passed over her face. He didn't assume it was a difficult question.

"well... Cam Mitchell asked me a few days ago to rejoin SG1. I said no. Now, since you're going back, I'm starting to think Colorado isn't so bad." He gave her his classic tell-me-more-but-use-small-words look. "Monday to Friday, simple reconnaissance. Then spend the weekends with a certain Major General. I could live with that." she shrugged.

"Wait until the world needs saving. Stay here. Do your research. Play with your doohickey's. We see each other when we can. The second you're actually needed at the SGC, I'll give the order." He practically pleaded.

"Jack-" she began.

"Please." He reached out and grabbed her hand. She considered for a moment, searching his face. "Let me keep you here until you're really, _really_ needed out there."

"Alright." She surrendered quietly. She returned the grasp on her hand.

She heart still raced from the fluster of anger and the rush of adrenaline still coursed through her veins sending a warm flush to her cheeks. That anger was gone, now she felt a warm affection penetrate her thoughts. She almost couldn't help herself when she leant forwards to plant a very non-regulation kiss on his lips, which he accepted in a very non-Major General way mind you.

**SJ**

**Wow, that had a bit of a 'grace' feel to it.**


	7. Arlington

**Disclaimer: Not mine; makes me sad.  
****Chapter summary: I don't wanna give stuff away! You can't have a chapter summary this time! ok, it's full of shippy goodness, then a trip to Jacob's grave. It's set about a week after last chapter. So the next Friday night.  
****A/note: this chapter is wickedly cliché, but it's so fun to write. This is ****the**** chapter by the way, and excuse me for my lack of detail.*wink wink* I imply, not elaborate. I also realise I NEED a beta, because whilst I get my best ideas at 3am, it prime typo time. Thank you to the lovely reviews too! A good day they certainly make. Cheers to Bill Shakespeare for the sonnet too. Number 116 if anyone is curious. **

***shamelessly shippy, the fluff bunny attacked me. It's not all fluff though.**

~SJ~

Not that he often had the chance to notice, spending eight years under a mountain after all, but the moon was full tonight. At least he presumed it was. The rain pounded on the roof of his car loudly, rendering the gravelly rambling of the radio to nothing more than static. Pulling up alongside his apartment block, he glanced down the empty and misty street. No one in sight, just a never ending radiance cast down from the sky onto the sleeping architecture. The random flash of lightning illuminated the street, revealing far greater detail.

He wasted little time in gathering his briefcase from the seat beside him and making a dash to the front door. The rain came down fast in big fat drops onto his service dress. By the time he made it through, his hair was flattened mercilessly to his head and water ran down his face, ears and neck. His shoulders were damp and his once mirror shined shoes now messy and spotty.

He snuck a peek at his face of his watch, speckled with moisture. 11:06pm. Lovely. He was meant to clean up his place and get up early in the morning. He was picking up Sam from the airport just after lunch tomorrow and intended to take the afternoon off. He just hoped he could wrangle enough sleep to give her a warm welcome tomorrow. Luckily, he was a minimalist and hardly spent enough time in his old apartment to allow it to become truly chaotic. Just a tidy up.

In the sanctuary of the elevator he loosened his tie, undid the top button of his shirt and undid the dress jacket. He ran a hand through his hair only to find that, yes, it was still rather wet and now his hand was too. Carelessly he dried it against his leg. Good thing he had a spare set of blues. Two actually.

The elevator doors dinged open and he stepped out into the darkened hallway. Automatic lights flicked on when he entered, fishing his room key from his pocket. He stifled a yawn and rolled his contracting shoulder muscles. Unlocking his apartment, he slipped inside, nudging the door shut behind with his foot. The living room was almost dark, though the glow from the sky and streetlight outside offered an eerie comfort.

It briefly occurred to him that he didn't have a spare room, and though it wouldn't be the first time he'd slept in close quarters with his former 2IC, it would be the first time he would be, you know, sleeping in _very close quarters_ with his former second in command. Secretly, he was insatiably itching to try that particular sleeping arrangement.

Eh, clean up in the morning.

A flash of lightning filled the room, as he stepped further into the living room. His eyes may have deceived him, but was that a pair of white-socked feet resting on the arm of his sofa? He didn't leave those there. As if nature sensed his confusion, the room again filled with a soft and brief glow. Still there. Shall we try another crazy test please?

Curiously, he ambled quietly around the edge of the room. The socked feet extended into jean covered legs, long legs, mind you. The legs met at a buckled brown belt. Two slender hands gripped a book on a very nice torso, one he wasn't dumb enough to not appreciate, hidden beneath what may have been a soft pink sweater. His eyes travelled further up to... he'd keep that comment to himself. His gaze kept moving up and came to rest on a face he was glad to know so well. Sam. She seemed very comfortable sleeping on his sofa, given the content look on her face as her nose snuggled into her shoulder.

Speaking of nose, on the end of that lovely feature sat a pair of thinly rimmed reading glasses. Oh Christmas had come early for him! It was a sight he could only call adorable. He couldn't help himself now. There were presents that needed opening here.

He gently lowered his briefcase to the ground and with as much stealth as he could manage at his age, snuck over to the sofa, slipping in between the edge and the coffee table. He carefully sat down next to her hip and softly poked her in the side. Her head perked up, her eyes bleary for a moment before fixing upon him.

"Hey there..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Hi." He half whispered, though he wasn't sure why. He probably hadn't, the thudding of the rain drowned their words.

"What time is it?" she tried, opening her eyes more widely, but ending up looking slightly dazed. Another flash of lightning filled the room.

"After eleven. How long you been here?"

"Two hours maybe. Finished early and thought I might surprise you. Surprise. You're landlord let me in when he was fixing a window next door. He thought it was a good surprise too. He seems nice."

Nick, you sneaky bastard.

"Yeah. He likes playing matchmaker. Keeps introducing me to women in the building. Guess he won't be anymore." He gave her a pensive smile. "You get over here alright? Should have called me, I would have come an' got you."

"It's fine. Trip was good." She lifted a lazy hand to pat his arm. "Why are you all wet?"

"Rain does that."

"Oh." She concluded. She sat up and gave him a look over her shoulder. He gave her a shifty look before standing up and getting out of her way. "You better get dry. It's late." She went to walk past him, book still in hand.

"Whoa, wait up!" he reached over and hooked her around the waist, swinging her back into his arms, colliding with an intense thump. He careful removed the reading glasses from her face.

"I like these." He toyed with them between his fingertips, his lips rising into a boyish smirk. "Go to bed, I'll be there in a bit." He nodded his head down the hall, offering her spectacles to her. He didn't miss the darkness that swept past the usual blue ocean in her eyes. She met him in the middle for a very hungry kiss that she deliberately cut short, leaving him wanting a lot more. Little minx.

After a quick shower and a little mental preparation, among other things, he crept down the dark hallway clad in only a pair of black track pants and white boxer shorts. He opened the door to his bedroom, and found, for lack of a more appropriate word, his _girlfriend_ standing in front of the window that overlooked his often too empty bed.

He tilted his head to the side slightly and made his way across the room, this time making no attempt to be quiet. He stopped two paces or so behind her. She stood still, arms folded, staring out into the night through the drizzling window. She had only a pair of powder blue pyjama pants and a white camisole to shield her form the cool night air. Though, to be fair, he wasn't even wearing a shirt of any sort at all. But guys weren't as sensitive to the cold as women. Apparently.

He began playing with his fingers in front of his belly.

"Whatchya thinking about?"

"Not much. Oddly enough." She kept staring out the window. "The window looks a little like an event horizon. Maybe." The rain pounded hard onto the window creating a sporadic symphony in tribute to each drop's demise. She turned and looked over her shoulder at him.

"You?" she asked.

"Usual." He raised a knowing eyebrow and tilted his head far to the left, leaving her with no doubt as to where his brain was. A dark twinkle flashed in her eyes as she approached him, into his eagerly awaiting arms.

**~ ;-) ~**

_...Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
__But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
__If this be error, and upon me prov'd,  
__I never writ, nor no man ever loved._

~SJ~

The first time the alarm clock on his cell went off, he answered it. When he realised it was an ungodly hour and he never wanted to see the evil device again, he tossed it under the bed. It was still raining, but more soothingly now. He rolled onto his side and found a nice warm body under the blanket with him. _Hello_. She laid face down, her arms tucked deeply under her pillow, which she seemed to have claimed as her own. He wriggled closer and greedily pulled her into his embrace, eliciting a sleepy grumble from her. She seemed able to humour him by turning a little and tucking her shoulders into his chest.

"Do we have to get up yet?" she mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Nup."

She sighed a contented 'mm' before drifting back to sleep.

Later in the morning, Jack carefully removed himself to go in search of caffeine. Coffee, tall and black, strong enough to wake a sleeping elephant. He took a guess that Sam was a tea person in the morning. At least that was what he had observed during the years. When he poked his head back into his room, she had shifted and _may_ have woken since he left.

"Sam?"

She didn't stir. Her head lolled to the side, but not actively enough to indicate coherency. He frowned and weighed his options. Teacup now on the bedside table, he crawled over her warm body and settled into her side. He tucked his hands behind his head, letting a mischievous grin grow on his lips; turning his head, he whispered to her;

"Carter... Cassandra's pregnant."

Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright in the bed.

"What?" she said, forgetting he was even there.

He watched the expressions play out over her face. Shock, confusion then a little intrigue. She looked over her bare shoulder at him, having worked out his little lie. Feeling that he may be too smug for this time of the morning, she personally saw to the removal of his smirk with a warm kiss. Evidently liking this kind of reprimand he willing pulled her atop him. Eventually, oxygen deprivation won out.

"I gotta go to work for the morning. I'll be back for lunch. Think you can amuse yourself for a few hours?"

"Uh, yeah, there are a few things I _need_ to do." She left it at that. He had his suspicions but felt them best kept unspoken.

"Sam, listen very carefully because I don't do this often." His face became serious. He held up his car keys. "You can have my car this morning."

She tried to keep a straight face as she made a grab for them. She really did.

"Just drop me off at work and I'll grab one of the work cars. I'm not sure what time I'll get out, so..." he added with a shrug. After a little more play fighting than he had time for, he relinquished the beloved keys.

~SJ~

She stood at the main gate of Arlington National Cemetery, a bouquet of fresh, white daisies in one hand, her small black umbrella grasped in the other. She succumbed to a shiver which had nothing to do with the cold breeze that practically cut right to the bone. This place held some dark memories for her. Her memories of her last visit here, less than five months ago, flashed past her mind's eye with a frightening intensity. Slowly, she made her way through the endless rows of chalk white tombstones. She knew her way to his grave as if she made the trip every day.

After close to ten minutes, she saw it three rows ahead. She came to a halt at the end. The grass had grown over the space she remembered his body being lowered into.

"Hi Dad..." She tried to smile. Taking two hesitant steps forward, she gently laid the daisies to rest by the pristine headstone, before retreating to her original spot.

She was at a loss for anything appropriate to say to her departed father. It occurred to her suddenly that just because he was gone, didn't mean she had to go back to being 'Soldier Sam'. Besides, if he was watching over her (and past experience with Daniel only supported that possibility) all the more reason to hold nothing back. Might as well be open and honest with him now.

"Guess what... I'm finally happy." She smiled gently. "It took me a while to get here. You'd be proud of us though, we broke the rules." She chuckled to herself. "I'm glad I listened to you, Dad. I really am. He cares about me a lot. I learnt that a long time ago. I don't think I told you this with Pete or Jonas, but I love him." she lightly scoffed at her realisation. "That's the first time I've said it out loud..." she mused. "I'll be okay Dad. I promise. Jack won't let anything happen to me."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she turned to look behind her. Sure enough, standing six or seven rows back under the shelter of a tree was Jack, in his blues and an overcoat. He wanted to give her some space. She beckoned him to her with a tilt of her head.

He came up and stood behind her, not touching her. Discomfort radiated from him. She clicked quickly. Charlie, Kawalsky, probably dozens of others. The man hated cemeteries. He offered a leather gloved hand, seeking as much comfort for himself as for her. She took it, turning back to where her father rested.

"I've never been less certain." She felt a white hot tear, just one, fall down her cheek.

~SJ~

**Please review, or just read it, that'll do too! peace!**


	8. James O'Neill

**Disclaimer****: Not mine... maybe I'll get them for Christmas or something. *fingers crossed* I don't own Nickelback's 'animals' either, which gets a mention in this.  
****A/note****: so here I'm wondering if Jack has siblings. I don't see him as an only child. Thus I invented a younger brother, James (Jim for short). I secretly think Jack could have an old sister who never took his crap, but I'm not exploring that here. I got an idea for this from 'The Cosby Show'. I'm sorry for the wait, I get easily distracted. Dedication for LadyMo this time :) Rambling again, I know... Enjoy!  
*****warning: shamelessly shippy and probably kind of fluffy. **

**~SJ~**

Jack sat behind an upturned barrel in a corner of the 'Red Dog' bar, nursing his third beer for the evening. It was one of several discoveries since his move back to Washington. The bar had a familiar country feel to it, which was quite out of place in the central business district of the capital city. It was one of those hidden treasures good friends mentioned to one another and had a solid group of regulars, one of which Jack was slowly turning into.

There were a dozen upturned barrels that served at tables, each surrounded by tall stools that were moved around by the patrons. The carpet was a few day past needing replacement, and the bar itself was well scratched and scarred from years of use. On the walls were photos of the regulars, sporting trophies, old band posters, chalkboards and knickknacks collected over the years. It was the kind of place that if it were knocked down, boy, would it be mourned.

He was content watching Sam at the pool table, probably winning her fourth game. He knew better than to be one of the many men lining up to take her on, and lose spectacularly. She was far enough away he could admire her and not be a distraction to her. Taking another generous sip of the bitter beverage, he was startled when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Geez Jack, getting jumpy in your old age!" A laugh emerged from his right side, one he hadn't heard in a long time.

He wouldn't deny being surprised by his brother's appearance, considering the last he heard, James O'Neill lived in Arkansas and was enjoying his carpentry gig.

"Christ Jim, what are you doing here?" He grinned at his brother, giving his younger brother a warm but brief embrace.

"Work; little convention over the weekend." He shrugged, sliding into Sam seat. "Damn Jack, you're getting grey there..."

"Earned every one of them." Jack replied, tipping back the last of his beer. "I didn't realise you guys had conventions."

"Oh yeah, Jack. All the time, it's like Christmas and New Year's rolled into one." His sarcasm was apparent. He leant over the barrel, resting on his elbows.

He certainly hadn't changed much, but he was starting to grow his own grey hairs here and there. He looked similar to Jack, but where Jack looked like his father, Jim had more of their mother's features. Regardless, if they stood together, the similarities were apparent. Jim was eleven years younger, though it looked like more, not for Jim's ability to hold his age, but more because Jack had aged quickly. Too quickly.

"Hoo boy brother, I think I'm in love!" Jim slapped his forearm.

"Well that didn't take long..." Jack rolled his eyes. Jim had wandering eyes and was yet to commit himself to one woman. He didn't use woman, he just enjoyed short term relationships.

Jack followed his brother's gaze across the room, landing on Sam as she sunk the six ball.

"Where?" he asked, in case his brother was looking elsewhere.

"The blonde playing pool."

Jim let out an 'mm hm' that made Jack's eye twitch; then an idea formed in his mind. He loved to torture his brother. And his brother really liked to gamble.

"Bet you a hundred I can get her to come home with me." Jack challenged confidently.

"I'd hate to take your money, Jack. No offense but you're a bit rusty and she is clearly out of your league."

"Two hundred." Jack smirked.

"She could be married..." Jim pointed out.

"You wanna up the stakes then? It'll make me work harder."

Jim rubbed his chin. He seemed to be seriously considering it.

"Hey, aren't you with Kerry?" he seemed to remember their last conversation.

"Definitely not. You in?" Jack offered. Jim thought for a moment.

"Four hundred. She has to agree to dinner as well."

Jack put on his best sceptical face, trying to convince Jim that this made it more difficult.

"Deal." Jack finally said, sliding off his stool and draping his jacket over the barrel. He rubbed his hands together for show and ran a hand through his wily hair.

"Hoo boy, I wanna see this!" Jim left his seat too. He did his best to look casual, following Jack to the table where Sam was lining up the 8 ball. He stood back and watched his older brother approach Sam.

Jack leant his hand on the edge of the table.

"Excuse me ma'am?" he said cheerily. Sam snapped the pool cue and sunk the 8 ball, invoking a groan from her opponent and his friends. She stood up, eyeing him carefully. She turned and leant back against the table, cue still in hand.

"Couldn't help but notice that you're damn good." He smiled and winked, his body angled such the Jim would have missed it. Her eyes shifted to his brother for a split second before returning to his. She seemed to catch on quickly, having seen a few photo's of Jack family and hopefully recognising his brother.

"Thank you." she said far too sweetly to have not caught on. "Sam." She held out a pretty little hand and winked back.

"Jack. I couldn't help but wonder, and forgive me if I'm wrong, since you're not wearing a ring, but do you have a boyfriend?" he said nice and casually, shaking her hand gently. He leant back on the table next to her, his hip moulding into hers.

"Not exactly, no." She was doing well. She even looked at him like it was an odd kind of question.

"Good. I don't either..." She smiled widely at him. She knew he meant girlfriend, but couldn't help but take what he said literally. "And since we have that in common, would like to have dinner with me tomorrow?" He offered her, with an innocent tilt of his head. She was suppressing a laugh. Not only was that line corny, it was nearly ridiculous. Luckily she was having enough fun to humour him.

"Now that would be lovely." She nodded lightly.

Jack looked back at his brother smugly. The look on Jim's face reflected his shock. The appropriate phrase to go with that face would have been along the lines of 'what the hell, how'd you do that?'. Jack noticed they had attracted the attention of several other people, probably wondering the same thing. Jack turned back to Sam before she began to feel neglected.

"You know what would be another good idea? Maybe we can head over to my place and you give me some pointers." He pulled the pool cue from her grasp and twirled it around his fingers. He leant sideways and whispered in her ear.

"You have an excellent grip." She gave a small and abrupt cough, clearly not missing the innuendo. How could she? She quickly recovered, shrugging carelessly.

"Ah... Alright."

"Sweet!" Jack grinned again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaving room between them for her arm to snake around his waist. They casually made their way towards the main doors, but Jack stopped by Jim briefly. He paused, trying not to laugh at his brother's bewildered look.

"It's all in the handshake." He said knowingly. "I'll see ya tomorrow." He patted his brother on the shoulder and left with Sam, looking back to see Jim trying to shake his own hand in deep fascination.

As soon as the door closed behind them leading into the alley way, Sam gave him a tight squeeze.

"What was that all about?"

"Remember how I said my brother James likes to gamble?"

"Yes..." She said slowly, quickly processing the information as it came.

"He just lost." He smirked.

"So that _was_ Jim in there?" she seemed ready to turn around and go introduce herself properly. Jack held his arm around her shoulders firmly.

"It's past his bedtime and he's going to drop around tomorrow anyway. He owes me four hundred." He steered them down the dark sidewalk.

"What were the terms?" she asked with a frown.

"Get you to have dinner and go home with me..."

"That's cheating Jack." she accused.

"Yeah... I won't make him pay up." He mused. They arrived at his black truck. She called it 'the tank'. He unlocked the door for her, going so far as to open it for her too. As she slipped in, a cell phone rang. She checked her cell but soon found it was his.

"O'Neill." He answered. He listened for a few seconds before closing her door absently and dawdling to the driver's side. As usual, she leant across and unlocked his side. He opened the door but stood inside for a few moments, leaning on the door and the roof.

"Alright Sir, Can do." He hung up and slipped in the truck. He handed her his cell to put in the glove box. "George wants me down at the SGC on Monday. IOA is doing an audit and would like me down there for it."

"Oh wonderful." She said sarcastically. Landry would be in a great mood when he finds out he's being audited on his first day back from leave.

"Yep." Jack agreed. "You going back tomorrow?" he asked, pulling away from the curb.

"Yes, why?"

"I'm going down Monday morning. I suppose it's better if we don't come in on the same flight." He said vaguely, his attention on the traffic, though she didn't miss the sting of frustration if his words. Yes, it was hard now that she had been pulled back onto SG1. To be fair, she told him she wanted to go back and not only had he agreed but he was the one to order her back. She knew he did it because he knew how much she missed being on SG1. But still, it was frustrating to keep their relationship off the radar.

She leaned across and ran a suggestive hand up his thigh. She knew exactly how to divert his train of thought. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Still looking for pointers?" she smirked cheekily. There goes the other eyebrow.

"Ya know. I reckon I heard about this in a song on the radio once. Something like _'you control how fast we by how hard you wanna..._" she ran that hand higher up his leg and did what he was about to say, causing him to push a little harder on the gas. "_squeeze._" He finished, his voice rising a little. He coughed behind closed lips.

"Contrary to popular belief Sam, I choose life." That's it, good brain, sensible thinking.

She gave his thigh another, gentler squeeze before letting go. She couldn't keep her hands to herself for long, soon playing with the hair on the back of his neck. It would have been a bit spiky, as he'd only recently had it cut.

Soon they were outside his apartment block and Sam wasted no time in catching his lips in a hungry kiss, he only just managed to undo his seat belt. Lord, she was playful tonight! He returned it with enough reserve to maintain coherent thought. As soon as she pulled back for air, he spoke.

"Sam, as much as I'd love to do this, I'd hate to threaten your modesty..." he tried.

"You're the _biggest_ _threat_ to my modesty Jack..." he was sure there was a 'duh' on the end of that. He let out an amused groan in agreement. He held back from kissing her again.

"I'll threaten your modesty up there." He pointed to the roof but referring to his apartment. They quickly exited the truck, almost leaving his cell in the glove box but he grabbed before locking the driver side door. He came up behind her and caught her by the hips, walking (more like waddling) behind her.

"You are _very_ frisky tonight, Carter..." he growled in her ear. It was quite uncharacteristic for her to be so forward with him. Not enough to worry though. He definitely wasn't complaining either!

She seemed inclined to agree with him, looking up at the building and laughing wholeheartedly. She rubbed the tops of his hands as he tried to wrap his arms fully around her waist.

"You're right. I should stop." She teased. He gripped her tightly and stopped abruptly, which she wasn't expecting. He nipped lightly at her neck, which he was delighted to discover was a ticklish spot, among other things, for her.

"I don't think so." He left a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Come on..." he led her by the hand up to his apartment.

He knew when she went back onto SG1, there was the distinct possibility she wouldn't come back. He brushed off the sad fact quickly, but the pained lingered in his system. He wasn't one to explain his feelings, but he had no reservations about showing her what he felt.

~SJ~

_The next morning_

Well this was awkward.

Jim was at a loss for words when the blonde from the bar last night- Sam, if he heard right- answered the door to his brother's appointment. He couldn't stop his eyebrows rise to his hairline as he took in her attire. Powder blue boxer shorts, more than likely belonging to his brother, a lavender camisole and a man's white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows. Nothing else.

She stood there silently, a toothbrush in hand. This was definitely Jack's place.

"Hi, I'm James. Jack's brother." he finally stammered. She nodded.

"I know. Jack told me you were going to stop by today. I'm Sam Carter. It nice to finally meet you. Unfortunately I'm leaving to go back to Colorado in about an hour." She stepped aside to let him in, offering him a friendly smile. She closed the door behind him.

Sam Carter? He knew that name from somewhere... oh, wait a minute.

"You don't happen to be Major Sam Carter? You work with Jack right?" He tried, passing a thumb along his chin in thought.

"That's me, except I'm a Lieutenant Colonel now. Jack's mentioned me?" She gave him a questioning gaze and a turn of her head.

"Yeah. Pretty much I every time we talk. I'm sorry, I got the impression you were a man, he always called you Carter... Sam is short for Samantha, right?"

She frowned and bit her lower lip, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes." She seemed to shake off whatever she was thinking. "Just so you know, Jack cheated last night. We've been seeing each other for a while... sort of."

Oh, really! He wasn't going to ask what she meant by 'sort of'.

"Sneaky bastard... he's going to pay for that one." He shook his head. Jack loved to mess with him. He looked back to her and she seemed quite amused, though he detected a hint of irritation at the fact Jack spoke so indifferently about her in previous years.

Jim followed her into the kitchen, where Jack was preparing to flip a pancake in a frying pan, dressed in nothing but a pair of black sweats and singlet white singlet.

"Don't even think about it Jack." Sam warned him as he was about to flip the pan up. Jack froze; the pan in both hands down near his knees. He seemed to register the irked expressions on his brother and partner's faces.

"Hey Jim... pancake?" Jack straightened up, an innocent look on his face. Sam turned back to Jim, raising the toothbrush to her lips, stopping only to speak.

"Sorry Jim, I need to get ready to go." She turned and sauntered back down the hall, Jim's eye's following her.

"Jim?" Jack coughed, clearly not enjoying Jim's attention to Sam.

"Couldn't help myself. Don't worry, she's all yours." He assured his brother with an absent wave of his hand. Jim slid into a seat at the table as Jack flipped his pancake with an egg flipper. Wow, Sam must have been training him well. Either that or Jack had it _bad_. Jim suspected it was both.

"So Sam mentioned you two worked together. That counts as inside knowledge, Jack."

Jack shrugged.

"Ok, I may have had a certain advantage." He slid the pancake off the fan and onto a plate.

"Mixing business with pleasure?"

Jack took a deep breath as he joined Jim at the table. He took a bite of the hot cake and chewed for a moment.

"Not exactly... no." Jack shook his head, staring at the wall behind Jim. "We don't _exactly_ work together anymore. When we did, there was no... mixing. Technically."

Technically? Not going to touch that with a ten foot pole. Jim shrugged and let it go. They sat and made their usual small talk until Sam returned, navy blue duffle slung over her shoulder. She had obviously showered, given her towel-dried hair and the smell of powder that seemed to follow her into the room.

"Well, I'm going to head off. You know what traffic's like this time of the morning." She dropped the duffle by her feet. "I hope we get to see more of you Jim. Perhaps under more normal circumstances." She cut Jack a playful scowl. Jim stood up to offer her a hug. She hesitated, but quickly relaxed.

"It was good to meet you too Sam." He released her, bending down to lift her duffle for her. There was an awkward silence in the air as Sam looked to Jack. He eventually caught on.

"Oh, right..." Jack stood and took her duffle from Jim. "Be right back." He directed to his brother, resting a hand on Sam's back following her to the front door.

Jack tailed her closely. The made it out of the door into the hall outside. He threw a look over his shoulder into his apartment and then down the hallway before leaning in closely.

"You going offworld tomorrow?" he whispered.

"No. Not till Wednesday." She confirmed.

"Ok. I might stop in for lunch on base. Reckon you can wrangle the whole team into joining me?"

"Even Mitchell?" she asked.

"Especially Mitchell..." his eyes narrowed a little. He smiled to assure her he wouldn't hurt the new leader of SG1. He gave her a quick kiss and handed over her duffle. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

She nodded and walked down the hall. She smiled and gave him a small wave as the elevator doors closed.

He smiled in return and shook his head, falling back against the doorframe.

"Wow. You must be serious about this one..." Jim's voice brought him back to earth. He quickly composed himself.

"What?" Jack stepped back into his apartment and shut the door. He brushed past his brother quickly. Jim wasn't going to give up easily.

"Well last time I actually saw you Jack, you weren't doing too well." Jim observed.

That was true. Jim came to Charlie's funeral. That was the last time they were in each other's company. Sure, there was the odd phone call or letter. Jack didn't want to talk about this. Not now.

"Jim..." Jack warned. He raised a hand in defence.

"All I'm saying is welcome back to the land of the living, brother. I'm happy you're happy and all that jazz." Jim concluded, knowing better than to try and continue the conversation. They walked in silence to the living room, dropping back onto the sofa.

"So when are you going to settle down? I know you don't like hearing it, Jim, but you're not young anymore either." Jack changed the subject, though clearly not far from the previous topic.

"Well..." Jim scrubbed a hand across his forehead and inattentively scratched his ear. "There is someone. But... I dunno..."

"Tell me more." Jack stood and made his way to the kitchen, but stopped and turned back. "I'm getting a drink, you want anything?"

"Got beer?" Jim asked.

"Always got beer..." Jack smirked.

"That'll do." Jim nodded.

"Keep talking, I can hear ya." Jack disappeared into the kitchen. Jim settled himself into the sofa.

"Her name is Anna. She works at an orphanage in Little Rock. I met her when I was dropping toys off there end of last year." he called to Jack. Jack emerged from the hall; he tossed him a glass bottle of Guinness.

"You were dropping toys off to an orphanage?" Jack asked. Yeah, he wouldn't have believed it either.

"Yeah. I made 'em. They asked if I could whip up a bunch of wooden toys for the kids for Christmas. I had time so I figured it would be a good idea."

"Ah..." Jack drawled, heading back to the kitchen. "Keep going."

"She's pretty amazing. She's pretty full stop." He added with a smile.

"Really?" Jack sounded genuinely interested. He returned to the living room, sipping what appeared to be coffee. Jim was distracted by this.

"No beer?" Jim waved nodded to Jack's coffee cup. Jack shook his head.

"Not in the morning. Sam is remodelling some of my eating habits." Jack took another sip, dropping into the armchair across from him.

"She's getting wifey on you already. How long you two been seein' each other?" Jim wondered. Jack stopped mid sip to glare at him.

"Six months going on eight years... sort of. It's not wifey. She cares about my health, especially since I spend most of my time behind a desk." He thought spitefully. His office job was nothing compared to being on SG1.

Jim scoffed at Jack's correction.

Yeah, Jack didn't fully believe it either. But he held her opinion in such high regard, when she decided to start caring about his personal life – of which, she was certainly now a part – he had no reason to stop her. Besides, it was nice to have someone care about him in that way.

~SJ~

_Monday morning_

The elevator stopped on the third level on the way down. Sam leant back against the rail, arms folded across her chest, staring blankly at her black combat boots. She should have spent leave breaking in the new pair. She would surely get blisters on her heels for the next few weeks.

The doors opened and pair of patent leather shoes stopped in front of her.

"Carter."

She looked up to see Jack in his Service Dress. The doors closed behind him.

"Hey Sir." She pushed of the rail and unfolded her arms, choosing to stand at ease. Back to Colonel and General.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Jack seemed to take a keen interest in the buttons. God, he got bored quickly these days. He absently poked to emergency stop button. They shuddered to a halt. Her best guess placed them between the fourteenth and fifteenth floors.

"Sir?" she steadied herself against rails. He looked around, then to her, back to the buttons, then back to Sam again.

Then that look came across his face. The mischievous one. Oh boy.

He approached her, his hands reaching for her waist. She instinctively backed into the wall. Had they been anywhere but the SGC, she would have welcomed this. Just being back in her blue BDU's made her tense against her will. Lieutenant Colonel Carter – the good soldier who followed the rules – knew better than to kiss a superior officer at work.

As soon as his hands found her hips, her mind switched back to Sam Carter, the woman who was head over heels for this man and would welcome this kind of attention any day. Time stopped the second his lips found hers and pressed his body to hers deliciously. His kiss was intense and playful, biting her bottom lip and giving it a tug. She was sure the rest of her body had melted into a puddle on the floor. He pulled away, a smug grin on his moist lips.

"What was that for?" she asked, her breath a little heavy.

Oh that was a stupid question, no doubt.

"I've always wanted to kiss you at work." He punched the emergency stop and the elevator resumed its course downwards.

"We did once. A long time ago..." she remembered.

Jack held up two fingers. 'Twice?' she wondered.

He closed his fist, looking away with a thoughtful frown.

"Wait, no, you wouldn't remember the second one." He tucked his hands back in his pockets, looking up at the roof, clearly recalling a memory she did not share.

She searched her memory. She had personally fantasised about kissing him on the Prometheus. _This_ she remembered clearly. Alternate reality didn't count.

"The time loop!" she concluded. He smiled widely and began to chuckle.

Her mouth hung open in shock. Seemingly without her notice, they arrived at the bottom floor. The doors opened and Siler stood waiting, a wrench and tool box in hand. Jack stepped out.

"Carter wanted to know what the red button did." Jack pointed to her with his thumb over his shoulder.

Bastard!

~SJ~

**A/note: Wow, that was so shippy it could float in water (I know, lame pun). Reviews welcome. I have no clue where this came from, it wrote itself. Jim will come back. Sort of. Not in this story. He plays a pretty important role in the story that follows on from this one, which will hopefully be started on the 23****rd****/24****th****. (depends on ya time zone)**

**PS: this was unbetaed. mistakes are mine.**


	9. Stripper Hat

**Disclaimer:**** not mine. I only own the DVD's.**  
**A/note:**** forgive my absence; I've been away since New Year's Day teaching cadets on promotion courses. Good fun though :) Alas, this story is coming to an end. Have no fear, my new story 'Sacrifices' picks up where this leaves off. This story is mostly (99.92%) indulgent fluff, whereas 'Sacrifices' is only about 5% fluff and 90% angst. It's still S/J (how could it not be?) but it has a strong an enticing plot. You won't be disappointed with it. I'm going to miss this story though :( Oops... rambling away aren't I? Enjoy! THANK YOU ADI!**  
***in this story, and 'Sacrifices' Daniel doesn't disappear in 'The Quest'. Just so you know. ****I'll also explain the 'Stripper hat' reference at the end.**

**~~ SJ ~~**

"Dragon? As in a _real _dragon?" Jack asked.

"Oh yeah. Scales, wings, fire. The works," Sam replied absently, currently much more concerned with the placement of her feet.

"How big?" Jack grinned, enjoying her frustration.

"About the size of a two-seater..." she pulled on his hands as she nearly lost her balance for the umpteenth time. "...A bit longer when you take the tail into account."

She continued to stare down at the ice beneath her. Ice skating after hours on a hockey rink was not the first thing that came to mind when she considered an ideal eighteen month anniversary date for Jack and herself. Jack was a natural on ice compared to her, which seemed only to fuel her annoyance.

He held her hands tightly and was moving backwards around the rink, dragging her with him.

"Relax Carter. Feel the momentum..." he let go of one of her hands (which did not serve to relax her in any way) and sidled up next to her.

"Don't tell me about momentum..." she muttered, waving her now free hand around to stabilise herself.

"Feisty tonight," he observed with a smirk.

"Sorry..." she apologised. He let go of her other hand (Aah!) and snuck around behind her, his hands firmly on her waist to help her balance.

"Don't be sorry... I like it," he smirked.

"Don't distract me: I'm concentrating," she said quickly. He couldn't help but smile.

"Carter?"

"What?"

"Chill..." He let go of her completely and followed close behind.

"Jack! Get back here!" She blindly reached behind herself for him, eyes widening at the idea of face-planting into the hard ice. He bit back a laugh and took one hand again, skating gently next to her. After ten minutes of circling the rink, Sam finally seemed to coordinate her movements.

"This takes me back..." she mused.

"To where?"

She licked her bottom lip, her eyes growing distant as she recalled the memory.

"When I was little, I spent a year doing ballet lessons. My mum went to the classes with me – she used to dance too – and she would help me with the dance moves. I wasn't very _graceful_ as a kid; I think she thought it would help."

"I didn't know that," Jack confessed. Admittedly, it was hard for him to imagine Sam in the tights and the ballet shoes. He'd seen her too often in uniform.

"We went rollerblading one day and she would hold my hands while I did the different poses. I lost my balance and fell forwards onto the bitumen." She managed to pull them both to a stop and lifted her chin, running her finger tip over a barely visible scar. "Nine stitches. I stopped ballet and rollerblading after that."

"What about ice skating?" He pulled her in closer to his side.

"My feet are stressing out, but it's not too bad." She gave him a small smile.

"You're doing good Sam..." They started circling the rink again. "So you're going to move an entire village out of phase?"

"Yeah. P9C-882. A Prior recently came to the planet and we expect him to return tomorrow. Landry wants me to use Merlin's device to hide the village. But I honestly don't think the device is even capable of it. The power required is more than a naquadah generator could put out."

"So use more than one generator," Jack shrugged. Sam glanced sideways, as she often did when she was thinking.

"That could work..." she considered. Jack could see her easily becoming lost in thought.

"Hey, that's enough thinking for today Carter." He poked her in the ribs, startling her enough for her to (once again) lose her balance.

She quickly grabbed hold of his shoulders. At the risk of going ass up along with her, Jack grabbed her around her waist tightly. She let out a squeaky laugh, clearly surprised.

"Think all you like tomorrow Sam. Tonight, you're stuck with me, which means no thinking allowed," he smiled.

"I'm still learning how to do that."

"I noticed. Need some help?" he waggled his eyebrows for a second, his innuendo not lost on her. She ignored it.

"I need you for a lot of things..." She confessed. He smiled appreciatively and looked away.

"Like baiting your lines?" he joked.

"I can't impale earthworms. I can hear their little voices saying 'Don't Sam. What did we do to you?'" she teased. His body trembled against hers with quiet laughter. "And other things, yes," she added.

He dropped a gentle kiss to her temple.

~~ SJ ~~

Sam's alarm clock announced itself at 0600 the next morning. She rolled over onto her stomach, her legs tangled in the sheets. The room was still dark as she ran a lazy arm across the bed in search of Jack. Instead she found a cold patch of exposed sheet. She rolled onto her back again and looked to the door. Sure enough, the hallway light was on and she could make out the rumble of the kettle boiling.

Slowly, she flopped out of bed and bed, sliding a hand into her bed-hair. She fought to keep her eyes open as she emerged from her bedroom into the lit hallway and down towards the dining room. Jack passed through the kitchen in his blue service dress, sans the shoes, tie, rank slides, belt and hat. The buttons on his cuffs were undone and he only had one black sock on. He seemed to be struggling with his tie. She simply stood and watched, given she wasn't fully awake yet.

He spotted her.

"Hey. I gotta leave by six thirty. Flight leaves at seven forty." He frowned at the tie around his neck. He looked back and gave her a once over. "You didn't forget, did you?"

She shook her head and began waddling towards him, a finger waving up and down at her head.

"Brain is still booting up." She grabbed the tie from his hands and began tying a double Windsor around his neck for him. Jack stood patiently, buttoning up his cuffs.

"I lost my clip-on. It's the only one I had left." He admitted.

She nodded sleepily and patted his chest when her work was done. Sam collected his rank slides from the counter and slapped one in his hand. As the joint effort continued, Jack was quickly dressed, and Sam, well, she was still only half awake. Jack took care of breakfast as Sam left him to go do her usual morning routine: wash her face, brush her hair, get dressed etc. They reconvened at the dining table fifteen minutes later.

"So this mission is just a day trip?" Jack asked, chewing a piece of toast. Sam nodded.

"If all goes well. But if it goes south, I don't know," she shrugged, taking a generous gulp of hot coffee. She wondered if the inventor of the beverage ever won an award for their ingenuity.

"Don't jinx it," Jack warned. Sam fell silent for a moment.

"Did you ever think about the possibility?" She didn't need to elaborate. He knew what she meant.

"I did. I considered it a _probability_. Every single mission, I tried to prepare for the fact that one of us – all of us – might not make it back..." He looked up at her for a moment, before dropping his gaze again. "...just took it one mission at a time. Next thing I knew, eight years had passed. We're still here."

"And now?" she wondered.

"I still prepare myself for that probability." He concluded. They shared a sombre silence. He was right; they couldn't count on SG-1's luck forever. One day, something would happen.

"What would it take for you to stay, Sam?" he asked abruptly. She considered the question seriously.

"World peace."

"I could arrange that." He offered with a tilt of his head.

"What about _peace amongst worlds_?" she rebutted. Jack's face fell a little.

"Well there's irony for ya: the only way to keep you is to let you go." Jack concluded.

Sam could feel the sadness roll off him in waves, pounding hard against her own chest. After a moment, she lifted herself from her chair and came to sit in his lap. He continued to look at the ground, but rubbed his hand on her back. She tucked a wily piece of hair behind his ear. Definitely time for a haircut.

"You really want me to stay, don't you?" she asked. He sucked in a big breath through his nose, letting it out again slowly.

"I know you _have_ to go..."

"That didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

"Of course _I_ want you to stay," he finally admitted. He stared at her determinedly. He mentally added the '_with me_' comment. Not that it needed to be verbalized; she would have known it was what he had meant. She practically fell into him, head forehead resting against the side of his own head. They sat quietly for a minute or so, but Sam was the first to move.

"You better get going." She patted his shoulder and hauled herself out of his lap. She heard his unenthused grunt of agreement behind her as she left him to go back to her bedroom. She retrieved his duffel bag and brought it back to the living room. Passing the clock in the hall, she saw that it was quickly approaching six thirty. She found Jack stretching and yawning at the front door. He ran both hands through his hair, smoothing it out. God, if only it were that easy for her.

"Stay inside, it's pretty cool outside." Jack advised, accepting his duffel from her.

"Hang on. You're missing something." She held up a finger and retreated back to her room. This could count as real exercise if she kept doing laps like this. She soon returned with his cap in hand.

"Forgot the stripper hat." She said with a straight face, practically throwing it to him like a Frisbee. Jack snorted at her use of the term 'stripper'. He thought it was not part of her colloquial vocabulary.

"Yes, well, you would know..." he said casually. She swatted his arm playfully. He feigned a submissive cringe and grinned. "Just... be careful." He hooked her around the waist and pulled her in to kiss her on the cheek. She smiled warmly and laid a hand on his chest.

"Behave yourself." She compromised. He frowned at her.

"I always do." He replied. Sam chuckled and cupped his cheek with one hand, stealing a goodbye kiss.

"Liar..." She teased, releasing him and indulgently watching him as he walked down the drive. He was correct, it was quite cool outside. He gave her a brief wave before tossing his duffel into the dew-covered statesman he had signed out of Peterson upon his arrival to the springs.

~~ SJ ~~

_That evening_  
_Washington DC_

Jack practically kicked the door to his apartment open. The day had been long. a large amount of paperwork had accumulated in his short absence, now his wrist ached from the repetitive movements of the day. He passed quickly through his living room, wrenching his tie from his neck, only remembering at the last minute that Sam had tied it for him and it would be best to preserve the knot. He stopped at the small table in his hallway, fiddling with the watch around his wrist. His cell rang in his pocket. He quickly retrieved it and wedged it between his ear and shoulder.

"O'Neill." He answered.

"Jack, its Hank." Oh, General Landry. If it were a business call, he would have identified himself by surname. Must be a casual call.

"Hank, how's it going? It's been a while." Jack said cheerily.

"Jack..." Hank's tone was serious and held an air necessary composure. Jack's heart skipped a beat, fearing the worst; his hand stilled on his wrist. Hank continued.

"There's been an incident Jack..." Hank began. Jack took the phone in his hand, his breath quickening.

"What happened?" Jack uttered, his voice failing him.

"It's Sam. She was shot..." Hank revealed with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

The walls either side of Jack seemed to close in on him. His legs buckled and he slid down the wall to the floor. He felt sick, the blood rushing from his head.

"They came back only a few minutes ago. Mitchell did his best, but they were in a pretty bad situation and couldn't immediately evacuate her. It's not looking good, her condition was critical when they brought her in..." Hank explained. He said more, but Jack had tuned out. His friend's voice was nothing more that senseless noise now. Jack couldn't pull two thoughts together any more.

"... Jack?" Hank's voice penetrated the piercing silence. Jack clung to his name.

"I'll be there," Jack said suddenly.

"There's no point Jack. She's in surgery and you won't be able to see her. Not to mention how it would look..." Hank protested. Damn him. Hank was right and Jack despised that fact.

"I can arrange for you to come out tomorrow. Make the trip a little more official from my end," Hank offered. Jack knew he was beyond irrational thought and reluctantly accepted his friend's offer.

"I'll be there first thing in the morning. Let me know if anything changes." Jack rubbed his eyes. He could feel the pressure of unshed tears building.

"Of course. Will do. I'm heading down there now." Jack wasn't offended that Hank hung up after that. He honestly was too distracted to think about it. The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a loud _thunk_. His head dropped back against the wall. _This was not happening_... surely?

~~ SJ ~~

**Now I must direct you to 'Sacrifices' which picks up where this leaves off. You'll find it on my profile page.**

**A/note: oh yes, the 'stripper hat' thing. I just finished teaching on promotion course with cadets and someone there referred to my peak cap as the 'stripper hat'. I'm wearing mine on my profile pic if you want to go see. I thought I'd throw that in here, for those with dirty minds like me ;)**


End file.
